PRESERVING RADIO HISTORY ACROSS COLORADO

Archives: Stations

  • KIQN-FM (103.3, Colorado City)

    KIQN (103.3 FM), licensed to Colorado City, is the 100,000-watt country signal that covers Pueblo and reaches into the Colorado Springs area. If you lived in Pueblo in the fall of 2015 and your country station suddenly turned up at a new spot on the dial, this is where it landed. Don’t confuse it with the earlier KIQN-FM on the Pueblo 106.9/107.1 facility, which carried the same calls from 2009 to 2014.

    History

    This facility was KJQY from 2006 to 2014, then KLEZ (2014–15), and KJQY again briefly in 2015 before becoming KIQN on November 23, 2015. The calls stand for “Kickin’.”

    In 2012 the signal ran Rhythmic AC and then Rhythmic Top 40, with evening “Radio Planeta” bilingual dance programming. By December 2014, SoCo Radio was running it under a management agreement.

    On September 1, 2015, SoCo flipped it to country as “KIQ’N Country,” bringing the brand over from 94.7 and 93.9.

    Call sign timeline

    • KJQY (2006–14)
    • KLEZ (2014–15)
    • KJQY (2015)
    • KIQN (November 23, 2015–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 103.3 MHz
    • City of license: Colorado City
    • Branding: KIQ’N Country
    • Format: Country

    Related

    Sources

  • KFVR-FM (94.7, Beulah)

    KFVR (94.7 FM) was the call sign from 2001 to 2019 on a Beulah-licensed signal that covers Pueblo and a good chunk of Southern Colorado. If you were driving I-25 between the Springs and Pueblo in those years, this is the station you’d have heard fading in and out. Today the signal is KRYE, a Regional Mexican station branded “El Tigre.”

    History

    The facility started life as KAUY (1997–98) and KKIK (1998–2001) on 106.5 before landing on 94.7 as KFVR. It carried Regional Mexican programming through 2012, then switched to classic rock (2012–13) and oldies (2013–14).

    Before SoCo Radio, KFVR was part of Pueblo Radio Group, which also held KIQN, KWRP and KAVA when the group bought Colorado Springs’ KCMN and KCBR in April 2012. In September 2014, SoCo Radio took over operations and ran it as “I25 Oldies” with KWRP as a sister.

    On September 1, 2015, SoCo flipped the format again. KFVR and translator K230BB (93.9, Fowler) became classic hip-hop “The Beat,” while the country format “KIQ’N Country” moved to 103.3. By 2019 the calls were KRYE and the station was back to Regional Mexican.

    Call sign timeline

    • KAUY (1997–98)
    • KKIK (1998–2001)
    • KFVR-FM (2001–2019)
    • KRYE (2019–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 94.7 MHz (Class C3)
    • City of license: Beulah
    • FCC facility ID: 81305

    Related

    Sources

  • KJYE-AM

    KJYE (1400 AM) is a religious station in Delta, Colorado, and for most of its life it was KDTA. If you grew up in the North Fork Valley, the old KDTA call letters are probably the ones you remember.

    History

    The station signed on January 14, 1955, as KDTA, and carried that call for 57 years apart from a short stretch as KPLG from 1986 to 1988. It became KJYE on September 21, 2012. Today it relays programming from its sister station KJOL.

    Call sign timeline

    • KDTA (1955–1986)
    • KPLG (1986–1988)
    • KDTA (1988–2012)
    • KJYE (2012–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 1400 kHz
    • City of license: Delta
    • Signed on: January 14, 1955
    • Format: Religious
    • Power: 1,000 watts, unlimited hours (Class C)

    If you worked at KDTA, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KDBN-FM

    KDBN (101.1 FM) is KSUN Community Radio, a volunteer-run, listener-supported station licensed to Parachute. If you’ve ever wanted your local radio to sound like your neighbors picked the music, that’s the idea here.

    History

    The station signed on in 2008 as KENG and became KDBN in 2009. For a while it simulcast the active rock of KKNN 95.1 from Delta, then switched to community radio, with programming picked by its members and the community.

    Call sign timeline

    • KENG (2008–2009)
    • KDBN (2009–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 101.1 MHz
    • City of license: Parachute
    • Signed on: 2008
    • Branding: KSUN Community Radio
    • FCC facility ID: 162254

    If you’ve volunteered at KSUN, we’d love to hear your story.

    Sources

  • KSTH-FM

    KSTH (92.3 FM) is “Star 92.3,” an adult contemporary station licensed to Holyoke in far northeastern Colorado. If you live out on the plains near the Nebraska line, this is your easy-listening hometown dial spot.

    History

    The station was first assigned the call letters KKYT on August 1, 1999, and became KSTH on July 7, 2004. It’s part of a McCook, Nebraska group of stations and holds a permit to go up to 35,000 watts.

    Call sign timeline

    • KKYT (1999–2004)
    • KSTH (2004–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 92.3 MHz
    • City of license: Holyoke
    • Branding: Star 92.3
    • Format: Adult contemporary
    • FCC facility ID: 85760

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you worked at Star 92.3, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KRZX-FM

    KRZX (106.1 FM) is a classic rock station licensed to Redlands, just outside Grand Junction. If you grew up on the big guitar rock of the 70s and 80s, this is the kind of station that keeps it going on the Western Slope.

    History

    The FCC assigned the KRZX call letters on May 1, 2006, but the station didn’t actually start broadcasting until 2010.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 106.1 MHz
    • City of license: Redlands
    • On the air: 2010 (call letters assigned May 1, 2006)
    • Format: Classic rock
    • FCC facility ID: 164260

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you worked at KRZX, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KRVG-FM

    KRVG (95.5 FM) is “The River,” an adult hits station licensed to Glenwood Springs. If you’ve cruised the Roaring Fork Valley with a little bit of everything on the radio, you’ve likely heard it.

    History

    The station signed on in 2001. It broadcasts from a mountaintop site more than 700 meters above the valley, with translators and a booster carrying the signal to Aspen and the rest of the Roaring Fork Valley.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 95.5 MHz
    • City of license: Glenwood Springs
    • Signed on: 2001
    • Branding: The River
    • Format: Adult hits
    • FCC facility ID: 88077

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you worked at The River, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KRKQ-FM

    KRKQ (95.5 FM) is “Mountain Chill,” a Telluride-area station licensed to Mountain Village that plays chill-out, downtempo, dub, reggae, Latin and electronica around the clock. If you like your radio mellow with a mountain view, this one’s for you.

    History

    Mountain Chill spent almost ten years as an internet-only station before the FM signal went on the air in October 2011. That made it the only broadcast station in the country playing electronica and chill-out full time, after Santa Fe’s KLBU/KJFA-FM, which ran the format from 2003 to 2013. The playlist leans on artists like Thievery Corporation, ODESZA, Bonobo and Bebel Gilberto, and the studios are in Ouray.

    The signal

    • Frequency: 95.5 MHz
    • City of license: Mountain Village
    • On the air: October 2011
    • Branding: Mountain Chill
    • Format: Chill-out / electronica
    • FCC facility ID: 166042

    This is a short page built from current station records. If you’ve worked at Mountain Chill, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KNDH-FM

    KNDH (96.7 FM) brings Colorado Public Radio’s Indie 102.3 to the Roaring Fork Valley from Carbondale. If you’ve driven between Aspen and Glenwood and kept the indie rock going, this is likely the signal doing the work.

    History

    The station started out as KUUR, “Your Radio,” serving the Aspen area with translators on 101.1 and 107.7. It was the first digital-capable station licensed to Carbondale, and in December 2012 it made international news by teaming up with Radio Mawwal 101.7 in Bethlehem to broadcast Christmas programming.

    In 2021 its owner traded KUUR and its translators to Colorado Public Radio for a Pueblo AM station CPR no longer needed. The station started simulcasting Indie 102.3 on May 26, 2021, and became KNDH the next day.

    Call sign timeline

    • KUUR (2005–2021)
    • KNDH (2021–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 96.7 MHz
    • City of license: Carbondale
    • Branding: Indie 102.3 (since 2021)
    • Owner: Colorado Public Radio
    • FCC facility ID: 162283

    If you worked at KUUR or listened to “Your Radio,” we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources

  • KYAP-FM

    KYAP (96.9 FM) is “La Guapa,” a regional Mexican station licensed to Nunn, just north of Greeley. If you’ve tuned around the Northern Colorado dial in the last few years, you’ve probably noticed this signal changing its personality more than once.

    History

    The station first signed on October 18, 1999, as KBPV on 96.7. It went through a quick run of call letters (KKRR, then KHAT in 2001, then KIMX in 2003) before settling into its current identity. In November 2016 the signal moved toward 96.9. After a few days of testing with an oldies simulcast, it became KYAP on November 23, 2016.

    From November 8, 2019, it played classic country as “K96.9.” Then on September 13, 2024, it picked up the La Guapa regional Mexican format from another Greeley station.

    Call sign timeline

    • KBPV (1999)
    • KKRR (1999–2001)
    • KHAT (2001–2003)
    • KIMX (2003–2016)
    • KYAP (2016–present)

    The signal

    • Frequency: 96.9 MHz (96.7 originally)
    • City of license: Nunn
    • Branding: La Guapa 96.9 (since 2024); K96.9 (2019–2024)
    • FCC facility ID: 82007

    If you worked at this station under any of its calls, we’d love to hear from you.

    Sources