PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KCME-FM

    KCME 88.7 FM is Colorado Springs’ independent, listener-supported public radio station, playing classical music and cultural programming around the clock. If you’ve ever wanted something calm on in the car on the way up Highway 24, this is where the dial lands.

    Origins in Manitou Springs

    Cheyenne Mountain Public Broadcast House was organized as a Colorado nonprofit in 1977. KCME began broadcasting in 1979 from a small house near a creek in Manitou Springs, first at 88.1 FM. It later moved to 88.7 FM, and in March 1993 the studios and offices moved to Colorado Springs.

    Ownership history

    • 1977 to today: Cheyenne Mountain Public Broadcast House, a Colorado nonprofit organized in 1977, which has held the station since it signed on in 1979

    The names of the founders aren’t on our sources yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Where the studios have been

    • 1979 to 1993: a small house near a creek in Manitou Springs
    • March 1993: studios and offices moved to Colorado Springs
    • Today: 1921 North Weber Street, Colorado Springs

    Regional expansion

    The main signal comes from a transmitter on Cheyenne Mountain. Over time, additional transmitters and translators have reached Manitou Springs, Nathrop, Salida, Buena Vista, Cañon City, Florence, Penrose, Breckenridge and Summit County. Streaming and a mobile app carry the station beyond the broadcast coverage area.

    Classical and jazz

    Classical KCME’s stated mission is to strengthen Colorado’s cultural community through music, arts programming, digital platforms and community engagement. The organization also runs Jazz 93.5, a sister service devoted to jazz. Both are funded by listener contributions, grants and program sponsorships rather than commercial spot advertising.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 88.7 FM
    • City of license: Colorado Springs
    • Studios: 1921 North Weber Street, Colorado Springs

    Sources

  • KWCS-FM

    KWCS (101.3 FM) was the construction permit call sign for the Walsenburg FM that later signed on as KOCK and then became KFEZ. It never actually went on the air as KWCS, so this one is for the history buffs.

    Construction permit years

    Call sign records put KWCS on the facility from 2005 to 2008. The call letters changed to KOCK before the station started regular programming. KOCK signed on January 7, 2009, with a rock format, which was the first operating identity of the 101.3 signal.

    What came next

    The facility became KFEZ in 2012. Most of the programming and ownership story belongs to the KOCK and KFEZ eras, but we keep KWCS as its own record so the call sign under which the Walsenburg allocation was developed isn’t lost.

    Ownership history

    Whoever held the construction permit under the KWCS calls hasn’t been identified yet. The owners after it signed on are on the KFEZ page.

    Where the studios have been

    It never went on the air as KWCS, so there were no studios under that name.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 101.3 MHz FM
    • Community of license: Walsenburg, Colorado
    • FCC facility ID: 164170
    • Class: C1
    • Next call signs: KOCK, KFEZ

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked on the early days of this signal, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KOCK-FM

    KOCK (101.3 FM) was the original on-air call sign of the low-power FM in Walsenburg, a short-lived rock station that signed on in January 2009. If you were in the Walsenburg area around 2009 looking for rock on the FM dial, this was the local option.

    History

    KOCK signed on January 7, 2009, as a locally oriented rock station serving southern Colorado. It went off the air in 2010 and stayed silent while the license and operation changed. In 2012 the facility came back as KFEZ, branded “The Breeze,” and later moved toward adult contemporary.

    Ownership history

    Who owned KOCK in 2009 and 2010 hasn’t been identified yet. The later owners, including Mike and Lori Knar’s SoCo Radio, are on the KFEZ page.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KOCK studio address yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 101.3 MHz FM
    • Community of license: Walsenburg, Colorado
    • First broadcast: January 7, 2009
    • Call sign period: 2009 to 2010
    • Format: rock
    • Next call sign: KFEZ

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KOCK, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KFEZ-FM

    KFEZ (101.3 FM) is a Southern Colorado station licensed to Walsenburg that has served Pueblo, Walsenburg, Rocky Ford and parts of the Colorado Springs region. If you’ve had a radio on in Southern Colorado since 2012, you’ve probably heard it under one of its many names, from “Easy 101.3” to “Gnarly 101.3.”

    From KOCK to KFEZ

    The facility signed on in 2009 as KOCK with a rock format. It returned to the air in 2012 as KFEZ with soft adult contemporary programming, and later cycled through sports, country, oldies and an all-1980s format branded “Gnarly 101.3.”

    SoCo Radio

    KFEZ was the first station in Mike and Lori Knar’s SoCo Radio. It came back on the air at the end of 2012 after sitting dark under an out-of-state owner, and from 2014 it was one of the signals SoCo ran in Pueblo and Southern Colorado. On September 1, 2015, it flipped from a shopping format (“The Bargain Channel”) to sports as “ESPN The Rock.” By 2017 it was also relaying “Cruisin’ Oldies 101.3” onto the Pueblo AM and translator signals.

    Ownership history

    • 2009 to 2012: an out-of-state owner, under whom the station sat dark
    • End of 2012 on: Mike and Lori Knar’s SoCo Radio, which ran it as the first station in its group

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found studio addresses for KFEZ yet. If you know them, we’d love to hear from you.

    Call sign timeline

    KWCS (2005 to 2008, construction permit era), KOCK (from January 7, 2009), silent April 22, 2010, then KFEZ from April 26, 2012.

    Even though its city of license is Walsenburg, the station’s large regional signal makes it part of the broader Pueblo and Southern Colorado radio landscape.

    Sources

    • Wikipedia: KFEZ
    • Colorado Springs Gazette, Dec. 7, 2014 (print)
    • RadioInsight, Sept. 25, 2014 and Sept. 1, 2015
    • Inside Radio, Nov. 2, 2017 (print)
    • FCC records

  • KLCX-FM

    KLCX was the call sign of a Pueblo FM station from 2014 to 2025, the stretch when it became part of the Air1 network. If you tuned in to contemporary Christian music in Pueblo over those years, this is the one.

    History

    The KLCX identity began in 2014, taking over from KIQN. Educational Media Foundation acquired the facility, and the format shifted from commercial country to the noncommercial religious service EMF runs. In 2025 the calls changed to KWRY, and the station kept its place in EMF’s Air1 network.

    Ownership history

    • 2014 to 2025: Educational Media Foundation, the noncommercial network behind Air1

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a studio address for KLCX yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Market: Pueblo, Colorado
    • Call sign period: 2014 to 2025
    • Before: KIQN
    • After: KWRY
    • Owner during this era: Educational Media Foundation
    • Network: Air1

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KLCX, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KIQN-FM

    KIQN (Pueblo FM) was the call sign on a Pueblo-area FM facility from 2009 to 2014, a country chapter between the KNKN and KLCX eras. If you listened to country in Pueblo around 2010, it may have been this one.

    Not to be confused with the 103.3 FM signal in Colorado City that has carried the KIQN calls since November 2015: KIQN-FM (103.3, Colorado City).

    History

    KIQN took over from KNKN in 2009 and carried country programming. Educational Media Foundation then acquired the facility, and in 2014 it became KLCX. It later became KWRY and joined EMF’s Air1 service. The facility moved between commercial and noncommercial operation along the way. We don’t have a detailed account of the KIQN format or schedule, only the call sign record.

    Ownership history

    • 2009 to 2014: owners before the sale aren’t confirmed yet
    • 2014: Educational Media Foundation

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KIQN studio address for this stretch yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    Call sign timeline

    KNKN, KIQN (2009 to 2014), KLCX, KWRY.

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KIQN, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KNKN-FM

    KNKN (107.1 FM) was the call sign on Pueblo’s 107.1 FM from 1993 to 2009. If you tuned to Spanish-language radio in Pueblo anytime in those 16 years, this was likely among your stops.

    History

    KNKN took over from the KGRQ-FM era on the 107.1 facility. For much of the KNKN run it carried Spanish-language programming. During the 90s it was co-owned with KCSJ and KYZX, tying it to other outlets in the Pueblo market. In 2009 the calls changed to KIQN, and later calls included KLCX and KWRY.

    Ownership history

    • 1993 to the late 1990s: co-owned with KCSJ and KYZX

    Names of the owners through 2009 aren’t confirmed yet. The longer 107.1 ownership trail is on the KWRY page.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KNKN studio address yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 107.1 MHz FM
    • Community: Pueblo, Colorado
    • Call sign period: 1993 to 2009
    • Programming: Spanish-language for much of the period

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KNKN, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KGRQ-FM

    KGRQ-FM (107.1) was the call sign on Pueblo’s 107.1 FM from 1989 to 1993, the Rainbow Communications era. If you were into album rock and oldies in Pueblo around 1990, this was on your radar.

    The Rainbow Communications years

    The 1990 M Street Radio Directory lists KGRQ-FM at 107.1 under Rainbow Communications Corporation, co-owned with KCSJ 590. It describes an album rock and oldies-leaning service, and puts both stations at First and Main streets in Pueblo.

    Ownership history

    • 1985 to the late 1980s: Sunbrook Broadcasting
    • About 1989 to 1993: Rainbow Communications Corporation, which also owned KCSJ

    Where the studios have been

    • 1990: First and Main streets, Pueblo, shared with KCSJ

    Where it fits

    The facility began October 30, 1979, as KAPI-FM. It became KRMX-FM in 1981, KUSN in 1985, and briefly KCSJ-FM in 1988, before taking the KGRQ-FM calls. In 1993 it became KNKN.

    Call sign timeline

    KAPI-FM, KRMX-FM, KUSN, KCSJ-FM, KGRQ-FM (1989 to 1993), KNKN, KIQN, KLCX, KWRY.

    Sources

  • KUSN-FM

    KUSN (107.1 FM) was “US 107,” Pueblo’s full-time country station of the late 80s and early 90s. If you spent those years with a country station on in Pueblo, there’s a good chance it was this one, or its sister station on AM.

    US 107

    Sunbrook Broadcasting, then the owner of KCSJ, bought the former KRMX-FM and introduced the KUSN calls in 1985. “US 107” positioned the station as a country music service for Pueblo and southern Colorado. It was closely tied to sister station KCSJ-AM on 590.

    The 107.1 facility later used the KNKN, KIQN and KLCX calls and eventually became KWRY. This page covers the 107.1 FM operation only, not the related AM station.

    Ownership history

    • 1985 to the late 1980s: Sunbrook Broadcasting, which also owned KCSJ

    The people behind Sunbrook haven’t been identified yet.

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KUSN studio address yet. The sister stations later shared a Pueblo address, listed on the KGRQ-FM page.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 107.1 MHz FM
    • Market: Pueblo, Colorado
    • Call sign period: 1985 to the late 80s (see KGRQ-FM for the calls that followed)
    • Format: country, branded “US 107”
    • Owner during this period: Sunbrook Broadcasting
    • Sister station: KCSJ-AM, 590 kHz
    • Next call sign: KNKN

    This is a short page built from call-sign records. If you worked at KUSN, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KRMX-FM

    KRMX-FM (107.1) was the call sign on Pueblo’s 107.1 FM from 1981 to 1985, ending with a short run as “Super X FM 107.” If you were a Pueblo teenager in 1985 and heard a high school student on the air in the afternoon, this may be where.

    Spanish-language years

    The station signed on October 30, 1979, as KAPI-FM, paired with KAPI 690 AM. In 1981, both stations took the KRMX calls and kept up their Spanish-language programming.

    Super X FM 107

    In April 1985, KRMX-FM split from the AM schedule and switched to English as “Super X FM 107.” The schedule was a mix: country in mornings and evenings, easy listening at midday, and an afternoon show staffed by high school students.

    Sunbrook Broadcasting bought the station later in 1985 and made it full-time country as KUSN, “US 107.”

    Ownership history

    • 1981 to 1985: the same owners as the AM station, which are described on the KRMX page
    • Late 1985: Sunbrook Broadcasting

    Where the studios have been

    We haven’t found a KRMX-FM studio address yet. If you know it, we’d love to hear from you.

    Call sign timeline

    KAPI-FM, KRMX-FM (1981 to 1985), KUSN, KCSJ-FM, KGRQ-FM, KNKN, KIQN, KLCX, KWRY.

    Sources