Timeline of Colorado Radio

Physician and radio experimenter Dr. William D. Reynolds operated an amateur station in Colorado Springs and pursued early radiotelephone experiments. Contemporary Colorado Springs reporting in June described Reynolds planning wireless experiments in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service. This work preceded federally licensed commercial broadcasting.

Dr. William D. “Doc” Reynolds operated amateur station 9ZAF from his home at 1124 S. University Boulevard in Denver. Reynolds used the station for experimental radiotelephone broadcasts and music, laying the groundwork for KLZ.

Contemporary Colorado Springs reporting described Dr. William D. Reynolds transmitting dance music by wireless, with local high-school students listening and dancing to the broadcast.

Colorado Springs reporting said Reynolds was transmitting radio concerts and developing a regular twice-weekly concert service, including the possibility of supplying wireless dance music to mountain resorts.

On March 10, 1922, the Department of Commerce issued Reynolds Radio Company a broadcasting authorization with the call letters KLZ. It was the first broadcasting license issued in Colorado under the new federal broadcasting rules.

KHD was licensed to C. F. Aldrich Marble & Granite Co. Early government station lists placed it on the 485-meter market-and-weather wavelength. The license was later deleted March 20, 1923.

KFBS was authorized in Trinidad. Early records identify Trinidad Gas & Electric Supply Co. and the Chronicle-News with the station; later records show it operated by School District No. 1.

KFUM began the station lineage that eventually became KVOR and later KCSF. W. D. Corley became the longtime early licensee.

KFCK was authorized to the Colorado Springs Radio Co.

KFFQ, operated by Marksheffel Motor Co., entered the air at 10 watts. It was later listed among stations deleted by 1924.

KFCK appeared in contemporary listings at 1240 kHz with 10 watts.

KFEL signed on in Denver in 1923, founded by Gene O’Fallon and broadcasting from the Albany Hotel. It became Denver’s second radio station and the beginning of the 950 AM lineage later identified with KIMN.

KFGB, operated by Lowenthal Brothers, appeared in the federal February station additions at just 10 watts.

KFBS continued in contemporary station directories. Another Trinidad station, KFHY, was also listed by June 1923 under R. S. McEwan.

On June 4, 1923, Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley received the first broadcast license for KFKA. The college’s radio experimentation reached back years earlier, making KFKA one of the foundational stations in Colorado broadcasting.

Sources: FCC history cards; Radio Service Bulletin, July 2, 1923; KFKA Diamond Jubilee history.

General Electric’s KOA signed on December 15, 1924 from its purpose-built facility at 14th Avenue and Krameria Street. The opening program mixed music, civic addresses and an invocation and established KOA as GE’s Rocky Mountain broadcasting station.

KFXF was licensed to Pikes Peak Broadcasting Co. at 226 Hagerman Building, with William Duncan Pyle identified as the principal owner. The station later moved to Denver and eventually became KVOD/KHOW.

KFUM was listed in Colorado Springs at 1250 kHz with 100 watts under W. D. Corley. KFBS was listed in Trinidad at 1260 kHz with 15 watts under School District No. 1.

KFXF moved from Colorado Springs to Denver. Federal Radio Commission action later assigned Denver’s KFXF and Colorado Springs’ KFUM to share 1060 kHz.

KGDP, operated by the Pueblo Council of the Boy Scouts of America, was authorized and operated at only 10 watts. Contemporary schedules show programs on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

In 1927, KFXF 630 moved its operation from Colorado Springs to Denver. The station would later become KVOD and, in 1958, KHOW.

Sources: Radio Service Bulletin, January 31, 1927; FCC history cards.

KGHF was authorized to Philip C. Lasky and J. H. Albert, establishing a station lineage that would remain on Pueblo radio under numerous later call signs.

KGHF began broadcasting in Pueblo.

The Federal Radio Commission authorized KGHA, owned by George H. Sweeney and N. S. Walpole, with a construction permit for 1430 kHz and 500 watts.

As part of the Federal Radio Commission’s nationwide frequency reallocation, KLZ was assigned to 560 kHz on November 11, 1928. The station has remained on 560 AM since.

The nationwide Federal Radio Commission reallocation substantially reshaped the dial. Contemporary listings place KFUM on 1390 kHz; Pueblo’s KGDP moved from 1340 to 1210, KGHA from 1430 to 1200, and KGHF from 1430 to 1320.

After KOA joined NBC’s network system, NBC took over operation of the General Electric station in 1929, integrating Denver more deeply into national network radio.

KGIW appeared on 1420 kHz with 100 watts. A 1929 Radio Digest directory identified the Trinidad Creamery Co. with the station. Later state records identify Leonard E. Wilson as licensee. Modern histories associate KGIW with Alamosa, so the station’s Trinidad-to-Alamosa transition remains under active research.

KGHF continued on 1320 kHz at 250 watts. Contemporary directories identify Curtis P. Ritchie and Joe E. Finch with the station.

Period station directories list KFUM at 1270 kHz with 1,000 watts, a substantial increase from its earlier 100-watt operation.

Federal-era station listings continued to show Pueblo’s KGHF on 1320 kHz under Curtis P. Ritchie and Joe E. Finch. KGIW remained listed on 1420 kHz in Trinidad; period tuning guides still identified it with Trinidad rather than Alamosa.

On April 11, 1930, Colorado State Teachers College sold KFKA to Mid-Western Radio Corporation after the educational institution found the cost of operating the station too burdensome. The transfer moved KFKA from educational to commercial operation.

Sources: Federal Radio Commission records; KFKA historical accounts.

Colorado’s state yearbook listed KGIW at 1420 kHz, 100 watts, licensed to Leonard E. Wilson in Trinidad.

KGHF remained at 1320 kHz with 250 watts; Colorado state records identify Curtis P. Ritchie and associates as the licensee.

KFUM was listed at 1270 kHz with 1,000 watts. W. D. Corley sought voluntary assignment of the license to Reynolds Radio Co., setting up the transition to the long-lived KVOR identity.

KVOR was operating on 1270 kHz with 1,000 watts, continuing the former KFUM facility under its new call letters.

KGHF remained silent for much of the year. A September 1932 DX publication quoted a response from the station manager stating that KGHF had been off the air since November 1931 and hoped to resume broadcasting late in 1932 or early 1933.

KGHF was again listed as active on 1320 kHz at 250 watts by April, documenting its return following the extended 1931–32 silence.

KGIW remained listed at 1420 kHz/100 watts in Trinidad during 1933. An October station-change report recorded a permit authorizing KGIW to move from Trinidad to Alamosa.

1933–34 — KVOR operated at 1270 kHz with 1,000 watts from the Mining Exchange Building in downtown Colorado Springs. The May 1933 RADEX directory identifies Reynolds Radio Co. Inc. at the Mining Exchange Building, and an October 1934 radio index independently gives the same address.

Period station-history material indicates both the studio and transmitter were located in the building during this era. This was KVOR’s documented home immediately before its move into the Antlers Hotel.

Sources: RADEX, May 1933; Radio Index, October 1934.

KOA opened new offices and studios in the NBC Building at 1625 California Street in downtown Denver in December 1934. The facility included control rooms and a studio designed for live music broadcasts.

KOA raised its power to 50,000 watts in July 1934, giving the Denver station a powerful regional signal that could be heard across much of the Mountain West.

KGIW was operating from Alamosa on 1420 kHz. A May 1934 publication reproduced correspondence from station manager G. A. Jenkins arranging a special KGIW program for radio listeners in New Zealand.

In July 1934, Denver’s 630 AM changed call letters from KFXF to KVOD, representing ‘Voice of Denver.’ The KVOD calls remained on 630 until 1958 and would later become associated with classical radio on FM.

Sources: Radio Service Bulletin, July 15, 1934; FCC history cards.

Newspaper reporting documented Dr. John R. Brinkley beginning weekly broadcasts carried jointly by Colorado Springs’ KVOR and Denver’s KVOD.

National station listings continued to show KVOR at 1270 kHz.

Federal records added KIUP to the station list, establishing Durango’s first local broadcast facility.

KIUP began broadcasting. Local historical research says ten Durango businessmen raised approximately $5,000 to establish the station. The original permit was issued in the name of electrician LeRoy Haley, who died in an accident before the station opened; the missing license reportedly delayed the launch. KIUP ultimately began broadcasting while operating under its construction permit.

By 1936 — KVOR had moved its Colorado Springs studios from the Mining Exchange Building into the Antlers Hotel.

A December 1936 Broadcasting advertisement identifies KVOR’s studio at the Antlers Hotel. A detailed 1939 station feature goes further, describing KVOR’s elaborately equipped studios on the hotel’s terrace level. Together with 1933–34 directory evidence placing KVOR at the Mining Exchange Building, these records bracket the move to the Antlers between the mid-1930s records.

The Antlers became an important home during KVOR’s CBS-network era and one of the notable early broadcast locations in downtown Colorado Springs.

Sources: Broadcasting, Dec. 1, 1936; Broadcasting, June 1, 1939; RADEX, May 1933; Radio Index, October 1934.

KIDW in Lamar was operating at 1420 kHz with 100 watts and sharing time with Alamosa’s KGIW. Earlier research suggesting KIDW went permanently dark in 1936 is contradicted by subsequent federal station lists; the station remained part of the licensed Colorado dial later in the decade.

KIUP’s schedule ran from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. Programs included The Children’s Bible Hour, Hawaiian music, Garden of Melody, News of the Hour, Farm Flashes, a request program, a WPA program, Sons of the Pioneers, Slices of Life and hillbilly music.

KIUP operated from its original stucco building at 2800 Main Avenue with only 100 watts. Its 1936 slogan was “The Voice of the San Juan Basin.”

KIUP broadcast the Kiva Theater’s local “Talent Revue and Gong Night” competition live. Surviving photographs identify musician Homer Kirk as one of the finalists and preserve an image of a KIUP condenser microphone designed by D. V. Tostenson.

KOKO began broadcasting on 1370 kHz, adding another permanent local voice to southeastern Colorado. The station later moved to 1400 kHz under the 1941 North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement and eventually became KBLJ.

Federal station lists continued to show KVOR in Colorado Springs, KGHF in Pueblo, KGIW in Alamosa, KIUP in Durango, KOKO in La Junta and KIDW in Lamar. The surviving lists are important evidence that several small-market facilities remained active even when later retrospective histories are incomplete.

KGHF continued on 1320 kHz at 500 watts, reflecting a power increase from its earlier 250-watt operation.

KIUP was listed at 1370 kHz with 100 watts under San Juan Broadcasting Co.

The March 7 FCC station list identified La Junta’s KOKO as a 100-watt, unlimited-time station on 1370 kHz owned by Southwest Broadcasting Co. Lamar’s KIDW was listed at 1420 kHz with 100 watts, also owned by Southwest Broadcasting Co., sharing hours with KGIW.

KOA moved to 850 on the AM dial in 1941, establishing the frequency that has identified the station ever since.

The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement triggered a continent-wide “moving day” for AM radio. Frequencies from 1200 through 1450 kHz generally shifted upward 30 kHz. In Southern Colorado this moved KVOR from 1270 to 1300, KGHF from 1320 to 1350, KOKO and KIUP from 1370 to 1400, and KGIW/KIDW from 1420 to 1450. The new assignments became the basis for several familiar long-term frequencies.

KMYR formally dedicated its new Denver station on April 27, 1941 after five days of operation. F. W. Meyer, formerly a KLZ manager, owned and managed the new 1340 AM outlet. Governor Ralph Carr and Denver mayor Benjamin Stapleton participated in the three-hour inaugural program. KMYR launched with hourly news and 250 watts daytime/100 watts nighttime.

Sources: Broadcasting, May 5, 1941; Denver Public Library Colorado Chronology.

In October 1945 Star Broadcasting Company applied for a Pueblo station on 590 kHz, the same frequency used by WOW in Omaha. The FCC designated Star’s proposal for a consolidated comparative and interference hearing with applications involving Albuquerque, San Bernardino and Cedar City.

Curtis P. Ritchie sought FCC consent to assign KGHF to Colorado Broadcasting Co. Under an October 8, 1945 agreement, Gifford Phillips, the company’s controlling stockholder, placed $20,000 in escrow for an option running through April 1, 1946 to purchase the Pueblo station for $300,000. The transaction illustrates the substantial value already attached to Pueblo radio properties immediately after World War II.

KCRT began broadcasting on 1240 kHz, restoring a permanent local radio voice to Trinidad after the earlier KFBS/KFHY era. The station would remain a long-lived Las Animas County service.

Engineering testimony based on the FCC’s published ground-conductivity standards indicated that the proposed Pueblo 590 operation would not create prohibited interference to WOW’s protected contour. The FCC severed and granted Star Broadcasting’s application in October 1946, establishing the regulatory foundation for KCSJ 590.

1947 — KRDO began broadcasting in Colorado Springs from the Alta Vista Hotel. The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum documents the original AM station operating from the hotel, with its antenna mounted atop the Marksheffel parking garage.

The station was founded by Harry Hoth’s Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company and signed on in March 1947. KRDO later expanded into television, putting KRDO-TV on the air in 1953.

The Pioneers Museum history says that a few years after the original hotel operation, the company purchased a building on South 8th Street. That site became an extraordinarily long-lived broadcasting home: KRDO’s current station information and FCC public-inspection records still identify 399 S. 8th Street, Colorado Springs as the main studio address.

Sources: Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, KRDO history; KRDO About Us; FCC public inspection file for KRDO-TV.

KRLN began broadcasting on 1400 kHz. Broadcasting Yearbook records identify Royal Gorge Broadcasters, Inc. as owner and list 1615 Central Avenue, Raymond M. Beckner as president/general manager, and Denver Wells as chief engineer.

KRDO signed on at 1240 kHz, giving Colorado Springs its second local AM station alongside KVOR. Pikes Peak Broadcasting Co. owned the new station.

In March 1947, KCOL 1410 AM signed on in Fort Collins. The station became a longtime Northern Colorado radio voice; its call letters later moved to 600 AM in the 1999 Clear Channel frequency identity swap.

Sources: FCC history records; Broadcasting Yearbook.

An FCC filing documents a proposed restructuring of KRDO’s Pikes Peak Broadcasting ownership. The station properties and equipment were valued at $38,000, and the company’s address was 118 North Cascade Avenue.

KCSJ signed on at 590 kHz. The call letters reflected its newspaper ownership by the Chieftain-Star Journal. Early KCSJ was a Mutual affiliate with studios on West 5th Street.

The Pueblo station that became KDZA began broadcasting on 1230 kHz. Pueblo radio historian material dates the station to December 1947 and identifies Dee Crouch with its ownership from 1947 to 1966.

1948 — Smith began his radio career in 1948 at KYOU-AM in Greeley, according to the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado’s Denver radio chronology.

Related person: Merwin Smith. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Merwin Smith biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio chronology; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Radio History; Broadcasting, November 4, 1957.

1948 — KGHF 1350 was operating from 304 N. Main Street in Pueblo under Colorado Broadcasting Co.

The 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook lists the station at that address with Gifford Phillips as president and chief owner, Robert D. Ellis as general manager and Kenneth Russell as commercial manager. The record provides a firm physical anchor for one of Pueblo radio’s oldest station lineages.

Source: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1948.

1947–48 — Early KCSJ 590 operated from 211 W. 5th Street in Pueblo under Star Broadcasting Co., the Chieftain-Star Journal-owned company that launched the station.

The 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook lists KCSJ at 211 W. 5th, and the 1954 edition still gives the same address, establishing it as the station’s long-running early studio and office location.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1948 and 1954.

KVRH began broadcasting on 1340 kHz with 250 watts. Later Radio Annual records identify William J. Murphy as owner/general manager and a P.O. Box 166 station address.

In 1948, Greeley’s KFKA moved to 1310 AM and gained unlimited operating hours. The frequency became the station’s long-term home after several earlier reallocations.

Sources: FCC history records; KFKA historical records.

KTLN began broadcasting May 16, 1948 on 990 AM. The station, owned by Alfred M. Landon, later moved to 1150 and then 1280 AM and became an important competitor in Denver personality and Top 40 radio.

Sources: 1280 AM history; KTLN historical archive.

On August 24, 1948, KYOU 1450 AM signed on in Greeley, creating a new commercial competitor in the local radio market. The station would later use the KGRE and KATR call letters before returning to KGRE.

Sources: FCC history records; Greeley radio histories.

A surviving 1949 photograph documents Buddy Johnson with country stars Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb during a Pueblo visit. Buddy Johnson’s family archive says the photograph was taken at either KGHF or KDZA, most likely KGHF. The image is strong evidence of the close connection between Pueblo radio and the city’s postwar live-country-music scene.

Local entertainer Buddy Johnson was working in Pueblo radio during the late 1940s, with surviving family history identifying work at KGHF, KDZA and ultimately KCSJ.

Actual operation of Star Broadcasting’s Pueblo 590 station revealed that ground conductivity between Pueblo and Omaha was greater than FCC engineering standards had predicted, causing objectionable interference to WOW inside its protected area. WOW had petitioned the FCC in 1948 to require a daytime directional antenna and in 1949 sought a hearing on Star’s renewal. In Radio Station WOW, Inc. v. FCC, the D.C. Circuit held that it lacked jurisdiction under the invoked statutory provision to review the FCC’s refusal to force modification of Star’s existing license, while separately considering the renewal appeal.

KRCC began broadcasting from Colorado College. Its roots reached back to a campus public-address operation established in 1944 and carrier-current broadcasting beginning in 1946. The new noncommercial FM station initially operated on 91.3 MHz using a World War II-surplus transmitter with only about 10 watts.

KLVC began broadcasting on 1230 AM with 250 watts from 520 West Sixth Street. Contemporary directories give September 21, 1951 as the sign-on date. A later Leadville recollection remembered the arrival as 1950; the archive notes that recollection while using the period directory date for the formal chronology.

KKTV channel 11 began television broadcasting in Colorado Springs. The arrival of local television began reshaping the businesses, personnel and facilities surrounding Southern Colorado radio.

1953 — In 1953 Smith joined KFEL-AM Radio in Denver.

Related person: Merwin Smith. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Merwin Smith biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio chronology; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Radio History; Broadcasting, November 4, 1957.

1953 — Price began his Denver broadcasting career in 1953 at KVOD-AM , then known as the “Voice of Denver,” working as a disc jockey, newscaster and board operator.

Related person: Gene Price. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Gene Price biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio.

By 1953 — KDZA 1230 and the new KDZA-TV operation were based at 3011 Elizabeth Street in Pueblo.

The 1953 Broadcasting Yearbook lists Pueblo Radio Co. and KDZA at 3011 Elizabeth. A contemporary television directory independently identifies KDZA-TV’s address and transmitter as 3011 Elizabeth and describes a 30-by-47-foot television studio there, confirming the property as an operating broadcast facility rather than merely a mailing address.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1953; contemporary television station directory, 1953.

1953 — Contemporary television construction records place Pikes Peak Broadcasting and the new KRDO-TV at 399 S. 8th Street, Colorado Springs, explicitly identifying KRDO radio as the affiliated AM station. The facility included two television studios and initially also housed the television transmitter.

The address became one of Colorado Springs broadcasting’s longest-lived facilities. KRDO-AM, KRDO-FM and KRDO-TV continue to use 399 S. 8th Street decades later.

Sources: Broadcasting/Telecasting station construction listing, 1953; KRDO; FCC public inspection records.

By 1953 KFEL was operating on 950 AM with 5,000 watts daytime from the Albany Hotel. The station was affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System and remained under Gene O’Fallon’s ownership.

KDZA-TV channel 3 became Pueblo’s first television station, operated by Pueblo Radio Co., owner of KDZA 1230. Contemporary sources differ slightly on the exact first regular broadcast date, placing it between March 16 and March 19. Dee B. Crouch was president/general manager; studios and transmitter were at 3011 Elizabeth Street.

KCSJ-TV channel 5 entered service. Bill Baker’s firsthand station history says the test pattern began June 14 and regular programming June 15; later station histories use July 13 as the formal sign-on date. The discrepancy remains noted pending additional contemporary documentation.

1953 — KCMS-FM began broadcasting at 104.9 MHz from an unusually intimate first studio: founder C. M. “Bud” Edmonds built the station’s operating facility in the garage of his home at 68 Minnehaha Avenue, Manitou Springs.

Edmonds, doing business as Garden of the Gods Broadcasting Company, created the station around a classical-music format—the KCMS calls reflected “Colorado’s Classical Music Station.” Accounts of the early operation describe Edmonds and his wife taking turns operating the Seeburg record changer, announcing selections and changing records.

In 1956 the FM moved from 104.9 to 102.7 MHz, and its transmitter was relocated to Cheyenne Mountain. That 102.7 facility ultimately became part of the lineage leading to today’s KBIQ, making the Minnehaha garage the earliest known studio home in the history of one of Colorado Springs’ enduring FM frequencies.

Sources: contemporary trade reporting on KCMS-FM; published KBIQ/KCMS station history and FCC facility history.

KLIR began broadcasting August 1, 1953 on 990 AM. Early station correspondence lists Denver Broadcasting Company at 6535 West Jewell and 1,000 watts daytime, using the slogan “It’s CLEAR in Denver.”

Sources: KLIR verification letter, September 1953; FCC history cards.

KRDO-TV channel 13 began broadcasting under Pikes Peak Broadcasting Co., alongside KRDO radio. KRDO engineering recollections document the radio operation moving into the new television building during the launch period.

A contemporary Broadcasting Yearbook lists Douglas D. Kahle as president/general manager, Robert L. Clinton Jr. as commercial manager, Larry Gordon as program director, Tim O’Connell as promotion manager, Dale Redlingshafer as chief engineer, Bob Billman as news director, Cliff Hendrix as farm director and Ross Beatty as sports director.

KSLV 1240 was operating from Monte Vista as a San Luis Valley local station, part of the growing network of small-market radio services across Southern and Western Colorado.

Time-Life acquired KLZ Radio and KLZ-TV in 1954, placing the historic Denver radio operation and its young television sister under the media company’s ownership.

In 1954, Gene O’Fallon sold Denver station KFEL to Standard Examiner Publishing of Ogden, Utah. The new owners changed the call letters to KIMN, beginning the identity that would become one of Denver’s defining Top 40 stations.

KDZA-TV channel 3 went silent, initially described as a shutdown for equipment repairs. The station never returned; its authorization expired later in 1954. The channel 3 allocation was subsequently shifted from Pueblo to Alamosa.

The FCC approved assignment of KCSJ AM-TV to Bankers Life, one of several broadcast-property transfers approved by the Commission that week.

From 1955 through 1958, the O’Leary family’s Valley Home Dairy sponsored The Bright Spot of the Week, a live Thursday-evening request program on KLVC. Emmett and Mary O’Leary performed popular songs, sometimes joined by Doris O’Leary, with Dick Peyton among the remembered announcers.

KLAK signed on January 8, 1955 at 1580 AM as a 250-watt daytime country station. Founder Morey Morey later recalled launching the station with “This Old House.” KLAK moved to 1600 AM in 1957 and developed into a longtime Denver-area country outlet.

Sources: Westword — Country Cookin’; 1600 AM chronology.

KVFC began broadcasting on 740 kHz with 1,000 watts daytime, giving Montezuma County a local radio service. Local historical reporting documents area church broadcasts beginning with the station’s February launch.

KWBY signed on at 740 kHz in Colorado Springs. This facility later became KSSS, then KTWK, and in 2000 acquired the KVOR call letters. It is a separate station lineage from the original KFUM/KVOR facility on 1300 kHz.

KCMS-FM moved from 104.9 to 102.7 MHz and relocated its FM transmitting facility to Cheyenne Mountain.

KRCC increased power from its extremely modest original facility to approximately 165 watts.

In April 1956, KMYR moved from its original 1340 kHz frequency to 710 kHz. The frequency move split what later became two distinct Denver station lineages: the former KMYR operation continued on 710, while 1340 became home to KDEN.

The 710 facility subsequently used the calls KICN, KBTR, KERE and KNUS, making the KMYR move a key junction in Denver AM history.

Sources: KNUS chronology and FCC references; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio.

KFEL began broadcasting on 970 kHz, adding a fourth major AM voice to the postwar Pueblo dial.

KAVI began broadcasting on 1320 kHz, eventually becoming an important Arkansas Valley station. The later KAVI-FM did not begin until 1966.

KCMS 1490 AM began broadcasting at 100 watts as a simulcast companion to KCMS-FM. The AM facility survives today under different call letters.

On December 1, 1956, Denver’s 105.1 FM facility signed on as KTGM with a middle-of-the-road/beautiful-music format. The frequency later became KADX, KBRQ and ultimately KXKL/KOOL 105.

Sources: FCC and 105.1 station-history records.

KAFA began broadcasting on 1460 kHz in Colorado Springs. The facility later became KYSN. A 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook retrospectively gives December 15, 1956 and incorrectly prints 1400 kHz; FCC-derived station history and later directories support December 21 and 1460 kHz, so the discrepancy is preserved rather than silently discarded.

KSHS(FM) began broadcasting at 90.5 MHz with 610 watts. Owned by Colorado Springs School District 11 and operated from Colorado Springs High School, later Palmer High School, the calls reflected the school’s original name. This station lineage later became KEPC.

KPIK began broadcasting at 1580 kHz with 5,000 watts daytime under Western Broadcasting Inc. The station later developed a strong country identity and gained an FM companion in the 1960s.

KFLJ began broadcasting on 1380 kHz, adding a local station to Huerfano County.

1958 — Gunderson joined KIMN-AM in 1958 and took over the afternoon shift.

Related person: Roy Gunderson. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Roy Gunderson biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio; Colorado Music Experience — KIMN Radio.

General Broadcasting Corp. acquired KAFA 1460 and changed the call letters to KYSN, pronounced “Kissin’.” The station developed into Colorado Springs’ dominant Top 40 outlet during the following decade.

On July 27, 1958, Denver’s 630 AM changed its call letters from KVOD to KHOW, establishing one of Denver radio’s longest-lived call signs.

Sources: Broadcasting, August 18, 1958; FCC history cards.

On October 2, 1958, the FM facility now heard at 99.5 signed on as KDEN-FM. The frequency would later become classical KVOD, alternative KKHK and eventually KQMT/The Mountain.

Sources: FCC and 99.5 station-history records.

1959 — Garrett began his broadcasting journey in 1959 at KYSN-AM , hosting the 10:00 PM to midnight shift alongside notable local personalities Terry Wilson and Steve Scott.

Related person: Mike Garrett. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Mike Garrett biography.

May 2, 1959 — KKFM begins broadcasting in Colorado Springs on 96.5 MHz, establishing the FM service whose license continues today as KKFM 98.1.

A later federal Colorado station inventory independently lists KKFM-FM as a 1959 Colorado Springs station on 96.5 MHz. The station remained at 96.5 until its 1992 frequency move.

Sources: Broadcasting/FCC-derived station histories; federal Colorado radio-station inventory.

On January 12, 1959, KZIX 600 AM signed on from Fort Collins. Initially a 1,000-watt daytime-only station, the facility later became KIIX and eventually KCOL.

Sources: Fort Collins Coloradoan, January 11, 1959; FCC history records.

Hill-Smith Broadcasting acquired KWBY 740. During 1959 the station changed call letters to KSSS, beginning a call identity that lasted until 1993.

KFMF(FM) began broadcasting on 96.5 MHz with 5 kW under F M Colorado Co. The facility later adopted the KKFM call letters and ultimately moved to 98.1 MHz in 1992.

KLIR-FM signed on July 9, 1959 at 100.3 FM as the companion to KLIR 990. The station began at 8,800 watts under George Basil Anderson and initially simulcast its AM sister before developing separate FM programming.

Sources: 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook; 100.3 FM chronology.

1960 — Slusser retired from KOA-AM in 1960 after 36 years.

Related person: Jesse Slusser. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Jesse Slusser biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado, Denver Radio history.

Leadville’s 1230 AM station adopted the KBRR call letters around 1960. The calls were remembered locally as an on-air reference to Leadville winter weather—“brrr.”

By 1960 — KVOR had moved from its earlier downtown hotel-era facilities to 512 S. Tejon Street, Colorado Springs. The 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook lists KVOR 1300 at that street address with Harrison Fuerst as president, John Hansen as general manager, Mac McKinnon as commercial manager, Paul Neisler as program director, John Bartholomew as news director and William Robson as chief engineer.

The same directory records the launch of sister KVOR-FM 92.9 on August 29, 1960, duplicating KVOR’s programming, making 512 S. Tejon an important early AM/FM facility in Colorado Springs radio history.

Source: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1960.

School District 11’s KSHS remained on 90.5 MHz. A 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook mistakenly labels the facility “KRDO (FM),” but its ownership, frequency, power and address match KSHS; other period allocation records and the later KEPC lineage confirm KSHS.

KRCC remained on 91.3 MHz; its later move to 91.5 was not authorized until 1965.

KYSN 1460 was owned by General Broadcasting Corp. and affiliated with ABC, Mutual and Intermountain. Period listings identify Kenneth Palmer, Wayne Costner, R. B. Brown, Jan Morrissy, Conrad Jensen and Sheridan Gilbert.

KSSS 740 was operating under Hill-Smith Broadcasting from the Antlers Hotel penthouse. Period listings identify J. D. Hill, Sterling Campbell, Bill Mahoney, Charles A. Bennett, Buddy Robbins, Dan McNamara and Rod Masel.

KFMF(FM) continued on 96.5 MHz at 5 kW under F M Colorado Co. Period directories list James D. Russell, Robert D. Ellis, Ron Menten, George Beattie and Walter Eisenberg with the operation.

KVOR-FM signed on February 1, 1960 at 92.9 MHz as the FM sister to KVOR 1300 AM. The new FM initially simulcast KVOR’s middle-of-the-road music, news and sports programming and shared its CBS network affiliation.

KVOR-FM began broadcasting on 92.9 MHz with 135 kW, initially duplicating CBS-affiliated KVOR 1300 AM. The AM station was then based at 512 South Tejon Street.

KAPI began broadcasting on 690 kHz, adding another AM signal to a rapidly expanding Pueblo radio dial.

KCSJ-TV was separated from its longtime KCSJ radio relationship when the television station was sold to an investment group and became KOAA-TV. KCSJ radio retained its identity.

KDZA was moving into the rock-and-roll/Top 40 era that would define much of its later identity. Surviving station history says “The Rock First Rolled in 1964,” while other historical summaries place its rise as Pueblo’s leading Top 40 outlet beginning around 1962. The archive preserves that uncertainty rather than assigning an unsupported single format-change date.

KLST(FM) began broadcasting on 94.3 MHz under Little London Broadcasting. Douglas W. Dailey served as the first president/general manager, and studios were at 802 East Fillmore Avenue. This facility later became KPIK-FM and, in 1978, KILO.

1963 — Garvey Communications acquires KKFM 96.5 in Colorado Springs. By 1966, the Broadcasting Yearbook lists KKFM as a 23-kW FM facility under Garvey, affiliated with sister television station KKTV.

The 1966 staff directory names Willard W. Garvey as president, Rush K. Evans as general manager, George Jeffrey as commercial manager, Sterling Campbell as station manager, Hal Kennedy as news director and H. Cozine Strang as chief engineer.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1966; Broadcasting Yearbook ownership directory, 1968.

KJFL-TV channel 6 began broadcasting, an early television development tied to the same small-market media environment served by KIUP radio. The television station went dark in 1964 and later returned as KREZ-TV.

The 1480 kHz facility returned to the air as KPUB under Donald W. Reynolds Jr., carrying a country format. The frequency had originally signed on as KTUX in 1960 under Steel City Broadcasting, but KTUX went silent October 24, 1962 after the company entered bankruptcy. Later regional listings identify KPUB as an ABC/Intermountain affiliate.

1964 — Original KYSN station letterhead places the Top 40 station at 30 South Tejon Street, Colorado Springs. A former KYSN broadcaster later remembered the original studios as being upstairs in the building at Colorado Avenue and Tejon Street, with windows facing Tejon.

The surviving March 24, 1964 reception-verification letter was signed by KYSN chief engineer Rolan Cobb and provides unusually strong primary-source documentation of the station’s downtown home.

Sources: KYSN reception-verification letter, March 24, 1964; later firsthand staff recollection.

1964 — KRYT 1530 began broadcasting in Colorado Springs. The 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook documents KRYT at 1047 S. Circle Drive, with William S. Cook as president, general manager and chief engineer. KRYT-FM 101.9, which signed on in 1967, was part of the same operation.

This corrects an earlier archive entry that associated 847 S. Circle Drive with KVOR/KVOR-FM in 1968. The period Broadcasting record does not support that attribution; 847 S. Circle is instead firmly documented later in the 1530 lineage under KKCS/KCMN.

Source: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1969.

KAPI 690 was owned by Centennial Radio Corp.; this Pueblo company is distinct from the later companies involved in the 1990s Colorado Springs consolidation story.

Sangre de Cristo Broadcasting’s KCSJ 590 listed Al Ross as president, Cliff Hendrix as station manager, Howard Myers as commercial manager and Kenneth Renfrow as chief engineer.

KGHF 1350 was operating at 5,000 watts daytime/1,000 watts nighttime under Garvey Communications Systems from Highway 50 West.

Contemporary Radio Annual listings show KDZA 1230 at 1,000 watts daytime/250 watts nighttime under Pueblo Radio Co., with Dee B. Crouch simultaneously listed as president, general manager and chief engineer. KFEL 970 remained a 1,000-watt independent station at 4411 Goodnight Avenue under Joseph M. Clifton.

Thomas T. Farley sold his 55 percent interest in KBRR to John H. East, who already owned 45 percent. KBRR was then a 250-watt full-time station on 1230 AM under Continental Divide Broadcasting.

In September 1964, KLMO-FM 104.3 signed on as the FM counterpart of Longmont’s KLMO AM. The Northern Colorado signal later became KQKS and evolved into one of Denver’s major contemporary-music stations.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook; KQKS station-history records.

KRCC was authorized to move from its original 91.3 MHz assignment to 91.5 MHz. The Colorado College station had relocated to the Rastall Center the previous year and was operating at roughly 280 watts during this stage of its development.

In 1965, the 93.3 FM facility that would eventually become KTCL began operating in Fort Collins. After an initial KZIX-FM authorization, the station adopted the KFMF call letters and received its first broadcast license in December 1965.

Sources: FCC history records; KTCL station-history records.

A June 1965 South Platte flood washed away KDAB 1550’s transmitter building, transmitter and tower, knocking the Arvada station off the air for weeks. A temporary 250-watt transmitter quickly failed and a 5,000-watt replacement was obtained while the station rebuilt. KDAB returned later in 1965 as KQXI.

Sources: Broadcasting, June 21, 1965; FCC history cards.

On June 21, 1965, KBPI 105.9 began broadcasting in Denver. The 1966 Broadcasting Yearbook listed KBPI at 30,000 watts, with Signal Broadcasting Productions Inc. as licensee and William S. Pierson as president, general manager and news director.

The station operated from the Daniels & Fisher Tower downtown and developed a progressive-rock identity. The KBPI calls reflected founder Bill Pierson’s company name, “Bill Pierson Incorporated.”

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook 1966 — KBPI listing; KBPI chronology and cited references.

In August 1965, Poudre Valley Broadcasting acquired Fort Collins station KZIX 600. The following month the company added 93.3 KFMF, creating the AM/FM combination whose descendants became KCOL and KTCL.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook 1966; station-history records.

Western Broadcasting Co., owner of country station KPIK 1580, acquired KLST 94.3 FM and changed its calls to KPIK-FM. The FM simulcast KPIK’s country programming, making the AM/FM operation an unusually early example of country music being carried full-time on FM.

On February 2, 1966, KLOV-FM 102.5 signed on in Loveland as the FM counterpart to KLOV. The facility later became KTRR and ultimately developed into the Retro 102.5 brand.

Sources: FCC history cards and call-sign records.

KAVI-FM began broadcasting at 95.9 MHz. The FM facility later increased dramatically in coverage and moved to 95.5 MHz in 1989; it survives as the station now known as KPHT.

KRYT-FM began broadcasting on 101.9 MHz in Colorado Springs in 1967 as the FM companion to KRYT 1530 AM. The 101.9 facility later cycled through several call signs and formats, becoming part of a long-running Colorado Springs FM lineage.

KVMN-FM began broadcasting on 98.9 MHz, adding an important commercial FM voice to the Pueblo market.

On January 6, 1967, the University of Northern Colorado launched KCBL 91.5 FM in Greeley. The public-radio station changed its call letters to KUNC in 1970 and grew into a regional Northern Colorado service.

Sources: KUNC station history; FCC records.

By 1967, KDKO 1510 had shifted from country toward rhythm and blues and soul and was being identified as “Denver’s Soul Radio.” The station became an important broadcast voice for Denver’s Black community. James “Dr. Daddio” Walker emerged as one of KDKO’s signature personalities and later its owner.

Sources: Colorado Public Radio; Westword; 1510 AM chronology.

In consolidated litigation decided in 1969, Pikes Peak Broadcasting Co. (KRDO-TV) and Sangre de Cristo Broadcasting Corp. (KOAA-TV) challenged FCC authorization allowing Vumore Video Corp. to operate a Colorado Springs CATV system importing Denver television signals. The broadcasters argued that the new cable service threatened local television and challenged the adequacy of the Commission’s protective conditions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the FCC’s action, noting protections including program-nonduplication requirements and finding no basis to overturn the Commission. The litigation also involved or drew participation from the City of Colorado Springs, Garvey Communications, the National Association of Broadcasters, translator organizations and Pueblo TV Power.

Surviving KDZA music surveys document the station’s mature Top 40 era, including weekly printed charts and an “All Time Top 200.” These artifacts provide unusually detailed evidence of what Pueblo listeners were hearing during the late-1960s rock era.

In the late 1960s, KLZ-FM became one of Denver’s early FM outlets for stereo freeform album rock. The station helped establish progressive FM rock in the market before its call letters later changed to KAZY.

Source: Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio: 80 Years of Change.

On March 3, 1968, KOSI 101.1 FM began broadcasting in Denver. The station developed a long-running easy-listening and later adult-contemporary identity.

Sources: FCC and KOSI station-history records.

The FCC approved the $2.575 million sale of KKTV to Capital of Colorado Corp. Contemporary ownership records note that Willard Garvey had acquired KKTV in 1963 as part of an $885,000 package that also included Colorado Springs FM station KFMH and Pueblo’s KGHF. The transactions help explain Garvey Communications’ presence in the 1960s Southern Colorado broadcast and CATV disputes.

1969 — In 1969, Moore moved to KHOW-AM , where he also served as program director.

Related person: Hal Moore. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Hal Moore biography; Westword — Hal Moore retires; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history.

In 1968, Billboard named KIMN its Station of the Year, during the station’s dominant Top 40 era in Denver.

KPIK 1580 remained a 5 kW daytime country station under Western Broadcasting, with KPIK-FM 94.3 duplicating the AM about 67 percent of the time. Period listings identify Donald L. Drennan as general manager, Norm Tester as program director, Jack Bouchie as music director and George James as assistant manager/chief engineer.

The 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook lists KKFM 96.5 at 23 kW from an antenna 2,300 feet above average terrain under Garvey Communications, which had acquired the station in 1963. Rush K. Evans was general manager; George Jeffrey commercial manager; Sterling Campbell station manager; Hal Kennedy news director; and H. Cozine Strang chief engineer.

KRDO-FM began broadcasting on 95.1 MHz in Colorado Springs on October 1, 1969. Owned by Pikes Peak Broadcasting Company as the FM sister to KRDO 1240 AM, the station initially aired beautiful music. The 95.1 facility later became today’s KATC-FM.

In 1969, Denver’s 99.5 FM adopted the KVOD call letters and became closely identified with classical music. The KVOD identity remained on 99.5 until the mid-1990s.

Sources: FCC call-sign history; Denver radio histories.

Southern Colorado State College’s long-running effort to create educational broadcasting advanced when its amended television application was granted June 26. The college’s surviving archives contain planning and communications records dating to the early 1960s; its FM station would finally begin broadcasting in October 1970.

A 1973 Colorado Springs radio directory’s career history for Jack Jennings lists KTSC in 1970, providing contemporary evidence of early on-air personnel at the new college FM station.

KCMS 1490 and KCMS-FM 102.7 were sold to Black Forest Development Co. The AM became KEDI with an information-and-education concept, while the FM separated musically with classical programming by day and free-form album rock at night.

In January 1970, Boulder station KRNW 97.3 adopted a freeform rock approach. The 97.3 facility would later become KBCO, carrying forward Boulder’s role in the development of progressive and adult-alternative radio.

Source: Denver Radio History/Playlist Research chronology.

In 1970, the University of Northern Colorado’s 91.5 FM changed its call letters from KCBL to KUNC, reflecting its university ownership and establishing the identity the public-radio service would retain.

Sources: FCC call-sign history; KUNC station history.

The educational FM station at what was then Southern Colorado State College began continuous operation on 89.5 MHz. Later station history describes the original facility as a 10-watt experiment and an educational media laboratory with eclectic block programming.

The educational FM station at Southern Colorado State College began continuous operation on 89.5 MHz, beginning the lineage of today’s Rev 89. A later account by longtime faculty adviser Sam Lovato describes the original facility as a 10-watt experiment. Early programming functioned largely as a media laboratory, with eclectic blocks of jazz, rock, classical and blues rather than a single commercial-style format.

1971 — Its career notes said he joined KPIK-AM in 1971 after work at KRSY and KRTY and that he had also served as KPIK-AM program director.

Related person: Dennis W. Walker. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Dennis W. Walker biography; Starship Radio 1973 — Colorado Springs market directory.

1971 — Broadcaster Lee Duncan works at KKFM/Colorado Springs during the station’s early progressive-rock period. Duncan’s career chronology independently places him at KKFM that year.

A separate firsthand recollection from a KYSN broadcaster working in Colorado Springs in early 1971 remembers KKFM as the city’s “underground” station, providing period context for the station’s programming identity. The recollection is preserved as firsthand testimony rather than a formal format record.

Sources: 440 International Radio Broadcasting History; RadioDiscussions firsthand Colorado Springs radio recollection.

KVRH-FM began broadcasting on 92.1 MHz as an FM companion to KVRH 1340.

A 1973 Colorado Springs radio directory’s career history for Jim Sipes lists KTSC in 1971, adding a documented name to the station’s otherwise sparsely preserved early personnel history.

1972 — The 1973 Starship Radio market directory lists Lundstrom in the 2–5 a.m. shift and records that she joined KPIK-AM in 1972.

Related person: Diane T. Lundstrom. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Diane T. Lundstrom biography; Starship Radio, 1973 market directory.

1972 — The same entry said he joined KEDI-FM in 1972 and listed earlier work at WANL, WRFS and WNUZ.

Related person: Chuck Browning. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Chuck Browning biography; Starship Radio 1973 — Colorado station directory.

1972 — The 1973 Starship Radio directory lists Crow on KEDI-FM ’s 2–6 a.m. shift and traces earlier air work to KRAN under the name Tommy O’Day, then KCAN, before he joined KEDI-FM in 1972.

Related person: C.C. Crow. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: C.C. Crow biography; Starship Radio, 1973 Colorado Springs directory.

In May 1972, the FCC granted KVOR-FM a construction permit that included a change of studio and remote-control location to 600 E. Brookside Street, Colorado Springs.

The same authorization moved the FM transmitter to Cheyenne Mountain, about 5.25 miles south-southwest of Colorado Springs, and specified new transmitting equipment and antenna changes. This provides a firm regulatory marker in the KVOR/KVOR-FM studio-location chronology.

Later records place KVOR and KSPZ at 615 E. Brookside Street by the mid-1980s, suggesting the Brookside corridor remained the stations’ operating base while the precise street address changed or was recorded differently over time.

Source: FCC Broadcast Bureau action reported in Broadcasting, June 12, 1972 (action May 30, 1972).

1973 — Keeney joined KIMN-AM in 1973 and became vice president and general manager in 1976 after working in station sales.

Related person: Steve Keeney. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Steve Keeney biography; Radio & Records, May 18, 1984 — KIMN 30th anniversary; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — KYGO Goes Country; Westword — Steve Keeney retires.

1973 — Michael Howard Birdsong becomes Program Director of KKFM after managing KCMS-FM in Manitou Springs. Birdsong’s tenure falls within KKFM’s free-form/progressive-rock period and lasts through 1975 according to biographical records.

Contemporary Walrus issues independently place Birdsong at KKFM throughout 1974.

Sources: Walrus, 1974; Marquis Who’s Who-derived biographical record.

A contemporary 1973 market directory lists Chuck Browning 6–10 a.m., Jim Sipes 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Mike Shannon 2–6 p.m., Jack Jennings 6–10 p.m., Tom Flohres 10 p.m.–2 a.m. and C.C. Crow 2–6 a.m. at KEDI. Steve Scott was general manager, station manager, program director and music director; Dana Ross was news director and Tom Flohres chief engineer.

KEDI/KCMS-FM had evolved into an aggressive Top 40 operation promoted as “Colorado’s Music Mother.” Historical accounts identify Steve Scott as programmer and describe the FM as an unusually early full-time FM Top 40 outlet.

In 1973, after Columbine Broadcasting acquired Denver’s KADX 105.1, the station changed from middle-of-the-road programming to jazz.

Source: 105.1/KXKL station-history records.

1974 — KKFM Program Director Michael Birdsong contributes a series of Colorado Springs concert reports to the national rock-radio trade publication Walrus. Surviving reviews cover shows including the Beach Boys and Jim Stafford, Rare Earth and Sugarloaf, and REO Speedwagon and Wet Willie at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium.

The reports document KKFM’s active connection to concert promotion and the city’s growing rock audience during the station’s progressive/free-form era.

Source: Walrus, multiple 1974 issues.

1974 — KEDI/KCMS-FM was sold to Mountain States Broadcasting and the AM/FM combination adopted the KIIQ calls. The FM continued Top 40 with a less aggressive playlist.

The ownership change also marked a physical move. A 1968 Standard Rate & Data Service directory places predecessor KCMS/KCMS-FM at 68 Minnehaha Avenue, Manitou Springs. Historical accounts of the 1974 sale state that Mountain States moved the studios to a new location on Manitou Avenue. The exact Manitou Avenue street number remains under research.

Sources: Standard Rate & Data Service, Nov. 1968; KBIQ/KIIQ historical accounts.

KVOR-FM 92.9 became KSPZ, beginning the long-remembered Z93 identity.

In 1974, KBPI founder Bill Pierson sold the Denver rock station. Under Progressive Broadcasters Incorporated, KBPI continued its rock direction and evolved toward the album-oriented rock sound that defined the station through the following decades.

Source: KBPI station-history records.

In 1974, 92.9 changed calls from KVOR-FM to KSPZ and adopted the Z93 identity with contemporary-hit programming. The station initially used Century 21’s Z format before moving toward a more locally originated approach later in the decade.

August 1974 — He joined KADE-FM ’s sales staff in August 1974 while the Boulder AM station was struggling financially.

Related person: Ray Skibitsky. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Ray Skibitsky biography; Westword — Today, Boulder. Tomorrow, the World; Colorado Music Experience — The Peak Lounge.

Michael Galer became owner of KDZA, succeeding Roger Brandt. Vintage KDZA history dates Galer’s ownership to 1975–1979.

KDJQ began broadcasting on 97.9 MHz as an automated Top 40 station. This facility later became KCSJ-FM and then KCCY, the ancestor of today’s Y96.9.

In 1975, Fort Collins’ KZIX 600 adopted the KIIX call letters. The station continued its country identity for many years and later added syndicated nighttime talk programming.

Sources: FCC call-sign history; KCOL station-history records.

In 1975, the 93.3 FM facility serving Fort Collins changed from KIIX-FM to KTCL. The station developed a progressive/freeform identity that eventually evolved into the modern-rock sound for which KTCL became known.

The KTCL calls remained with the same 93.3 facility as the station grew from a Northern Colorado outlet into a Denver-market alternative station.

Sources: Broadcasting, January 27, 1975 — call-letter change; KTCL chronology with FCC references.

Continental Divide Broadcasting sold KBRR to Zap Communications, Inc. for $150,000. The station was operating on 1230 AM with 1,000 watts by day and 250 watts at night.

The FM sister to KRLN 1400 signed on June 1, 1975 as KRLN-FM at 103.9 MHz. The station initially simulcast the AM operation and became the facility that would later evolve into Star Country KSTY.

Acting on a petition from KAPI Inc., licensee of daytime-only KAPI 690, the FCC considered and approved the addition of FM Channel 296A (107.1 MHz) to Pueblo. Supporting comments were filed by KAPI and no opposition was filed. The allotment created the frequency later used by the KUSN/KCSJ-FM/KGRQ/KNKN lineage.

In 1976, Hal Moore and Charley Martin became the morning team on KHOW. Hal & Charley became one of Denver radio’s best-known personality pairings and remained a major presence on the station for nearly two decades.

Sources: Westword interview with Hal Moore; KHOW historical records.

During the 1970s, Denver’s pioneering KLZ-FM rock service became KAZY 106.7. KAZY developed into one of Denver’s major album-rock stations and later competed directly with KBPI and KBCO.

Source: Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio: 80 Years of Change.

February 1977 — The national rock-radio trade publication Walrus lists Art Phillips and Program Director Steve Scott at KKFM/Colorado Springs. The surviving music report documents KKFM in an album-oriented rock environment, with airplay including artists such as the Eagles, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac and Genesis.

Scott’s presence connects KKFM’s 1970s rock era with his earlier Southern Colorado work at KDZA, KYSN and KEDI/KCMS. Phillips later became a longtime KILO music director and personality.

Source: Walrus, Feb. 16, 1977.

KPIK station manager George James was elected to the Colorado Springs City Council while continuing his broadcasting career.

KPIK-FM moved from 94.3 to 93.9 MHz and broke from its full simulcast with KPIK 1580. The FM emphasized contemporary country as “Super K-94,” while the AM retained a more traditional country approach.

In 1977, KBCO 97.3 began broadcasting from Boulder with just 610 watts. Program director Dennis Constantine helped shape an eclectic album-oriented sound that reflected Boulder’s music culture and would eventually develop into one of the best-known adult-alternative stations in the country.

Source: Radio & Records, August 14, 1987; Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

KBCO began broadcasting from Boulder on June 2, 1977 at noon after Bob and Diane Greenlee acquired KRNW 97.3. Program director Dennis Constantine helped build the new Colorado-oriented album format after working at KADE while the FM purchase awaited approval.

Sources: Dennis Constantine — KBCO beginnings; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KBCO.

1978 — Buell returned to KIMN-AM in 1978 for afternoon drive, designed as a highly produced “morning show in the afternoon.” As music listening shifted toward FM, he moved to Y108 in 1983.

Related person: Chuck Buell. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Chuck Buell biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Chuck Buell Hall of Fame biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — KIMN history.

In 1978, Alan Berg joined KHOW, adding one of Denver talk radio’s most notable personalities to the station’s lineup.

KPIK-FM adopted the KILO call letters and shifted from country toward album-oriented rock. The metric-themed name arrived just before the station was separated from KPIK AM ownership.

KGNU began broadcasting on 88.5 FM on May 22, 1978 from a cottage along Boulder Creek. The Boulder Community Broadcast Association built the independent station with major support from CU students, whose student-fee funding helped make the facility possible.

Sources: KGNU — official timeline; KGNU — Beginnings; University of Colorado Boulder — Origins: KGNU Radio.

By 1978, KSPZ/Z93 moved away from Century 21’s syndicated Z format toward a live-and-local programming approach. Z93 later evolved toward adult contemporary and used programming from Colorado Springs-based Transtar Radio Networks.

The FCC granted assignment of KILO 93.9 from Western Broadcasting to KILO Broadcasting for $302,074. Trade reporting identified Robert D. Telmosse as 51-percent owner and James L. Pinkston as 49-percent owner. KPIK AM was sold separately, with George James becoming its owner.

KDJQ 97.9 changed call letters to KCSJ-FM.

December 1978 — Jennifer Bell joined KYSN 1460 in Colorado Springs for the all-night shift after working at KBRR in Leadville. The 1980 Fred Directory of Radio later listed Bell from midnight to 5 a.m.

Sources: Radio & Records, Dec. 8, 1978; Fred Directory of Radio, 1980.

In 1979, the 92.1 FM facility later known as KJMN signed on as KMJD with a country format. Over the following two decades the frequency cycled through several formats before becoming a major player in Denver’s rhythmic-radio battle.

Sources: FCC and KJMN station-history records.

KCSJ-FM 97.9 became KCCY, establishing the call identity that survives on Pueblo radio today.

The University of Southern Colorado’s proposal to expand KTSC-FM’s public-broadcasting signal to more residents of Southeastern Colorado was deemed acceptable for federal consideration. The project was estimated at $182,900 and requested $137,175 in grant funding. University president Richard Pesqueira signed the application, documenting a major effort to grow the station beyond its original low-power educational operation.

KCME began broadcasting on 88.7 MHz as a noncommercial classical station, adding another distinctive FM service to the Pikes Peak region.

Wiskes/Abaris Communications acquired KIIQ AM/FM. The AM soon separated from the FM simulcast, becoming KRTS with an adult-standards format, while KIIQ-FM continued on 102.7.

1980 — After working in sales at KRDO ’s radio stations, he joined KILO-FM in 1980 as sales manager.

Related person: Lou Mellini. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Lou Mellini biography; Colorado Springs Gazette obituary/profile (2023); KILO, “Our Fallen Hero” memorial; Louis Mellini obituary, The Gazette via Legacy.

By 1980 — KYSN 1460 was operating from a small converted-house facility on Arvada Street near the Tejon Street exit. Former KYSN staff member Dan Archibeque, hired in August 1980, remembered the facility as an old converted farmhouse near the south entrance to Motor City.

Another former employee who worked at KYSN in early 1971 independently remembered the station in a small building just south of a car dealership, indicating the Arvada-area facility was in use by the early 1970s.

Sources: firsthand recollections by former KYSN staff members preserved by PikesPeakCafes and RadioDiscussions.

1980 — KYSN 1460 AM’s staff is documented in the national Fred Directory of Radio during the station’s final years as a major Colorado Springs Top 40 outlet. Dan Jackson serves as Program Director and 9 a.m.-noon host; Tom Brewer is Music Director; Hal Tatel is News Director. The weekday lineup also includes Jennifer Bell, Rick Elliott, Joe Myers and Paul Kavanaugh.

That year Jackson also hires broadcasting student Gary Street, beginning Street’s professional radio career. As the decade opens, KYSN faces rapidly increasing competition from FM music stations.

Source: Fred Directory of Radio, 1980; Colorado Springs Gazette, Dec. 4, 2009.

1980 — While attending Pikes Peak Community College’s broadcasting program, Gary Street begins his radio career at KYSN 1460 AM. Captain Dan Jackson hires Street for his first professional radio job.

Street would go on to work at KILO, KOA/Denver, KVOR and KRXP and earn numerous Associated Press honors for his news work.

Sources: Colorado Springs Gazette, Dec. 4, 2009 and Aug. 11, 2011.

KILO’s album-oriented-rock format was establishing the station as a major Colorado Springs market force. Later trade advertising described KILO as the market’s most-listened-to station continuously from 1980 through 1986; that characterization is retained as an attributed promotional claim.

KDZA remained Pueblo’s ratings leader in the spring 1980 survey, continuing a documented run of spring-book victories from 1977 through 1980. Its 12+ metro share had fallen from 24.8 in spring 1978 to 15.7 in 1980 as FM listening accelerated.

On July 7, 1980, 98.5 FM became “Rocky Mountain Country” KYGO. Denver Post coverage quoted general manager Steve Keeney describing FM country as an emerging format, while Bob Call was brought from WSOC in Charlotte to serve as program director, music director and an on-air personality.

Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado reports that the first country record played was Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” The change gave Denver a stereo FM country station and began a format run that has lasted for decades.

Sources: Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — KYGO Goes Country; KYGO-FM chronology and cited references.

By January 1981 — KKCS 1530 was operating from 847 S. Circle Drive, Colorado Springs. A contemporary Radio & Records employment ad directs applicants to Lew W. Pitt at that address, and the 1983 Cash Box country-radio directory independently lists KKCS there.

The address became a long-running home for the 1530 AM lineage. Later KCMN records and FCC tower-registration data continue to associate the station and its broadcast infrastructure with 847 S. Circle Drive.

The predecessor KRYT operation had been documented at 1047 S. Circle Drive in 1969, establishing a physical move in the station lineage between those two facilities.

Sources: Radio & Records, Jan. 30, 1981; Cash Box, Feb. 19, 1983; FCC antenna-registration records.

Ratings data show KIDN taking Pueblo’s number-one 12+ position in the spring survey, ending KDZA’s documented 1977–80 spring-book run.

KPLV 98.9 changed call letters to KRQY and shifted from its AC/AOR hybrid toward adult contemporary/classic hits. The former KVMN facility was moving steadily toward the mass-appeal identity that would become Magic FM.

The path to Fountain’s first local FM nearly ended before a station was built. The FCC had terminated a proceeding to assign Channel 292A (106.3 MHz) after original petitioner Kurt M. Grow failed to demonstrate initial and continuing interest. Newly formed Fountain Broadcasting Company petitioned for reconsideration. The FCC reversed its earlier action and made the 106.3 allotment effective February 1, 1982. The facility eventually signed on as KKQX in 1987 and became KKLI in 1988.

FM accounted for roughly 55.7 percent of measured Pueblo radio share, up from about 34.7 percent in 1977—clear evidence that measured audience use was shifting rapidly from AM to FM.

December 1982 — The Gavin Report lists Gary Street–KYSN as its Colorado Springs Top 40 correspondent, documenting Street as part of KYSN’s final contemporary-music era and reporting the station’s music activity to the national trade.

The period came as FM competition rapidly eroded KYSN’s once-dominant AM music audience; Duncan’s ratings history records a 2.0 12+ share for KYSN in 1982.

Sources: The Gavin Report, Dec. 17, 1982; James Duncan, Radio in the United States 1976-1982.

KIIQ 102.7 was operating a modern-rock format during the early 1980s, an intermediate chapter between its earlier Top 40 years and the later KIKX era.

KCCY-FM reached the number-one position in Pueblo’s spring ratings. FM’s total measured market share reached roughly 61.2 percent, compared with about 34.7 percent five years earlier.

The 1490 AM facility changed calls from KIIQ to KRTS while its 102.7 FM sister continued as KIIQ. The AM adopted an adult-standards approach, formally separating its identity from the FM.

In 1982, Denver’s 105.1 FM changed from jazz to country and adopted the KBRQ call letters. The FM simulcast its 1280 AM sister station before the frequency’s 1987 transformation into KOOL 105.

Source: KXKL/105.1 station-history records.

1983 – Volunteers founded KDNK as a community-access radio station in Carbondale. The station traces the “DNK” in its call sign to the Dinkel Building, where its first studio was located. KDNK’s origin established a locally rooted service that continues to connect people across the Roaring Fork region.

Source: KDNK, About and station history.

1983 — Bobby Irwin joined KVUU in Colorado Springs, beginning the first of two major chapters of his Southern Colorado radio career. Contemporary career records place Irwin at KVUU beginning in 1983, and surviving Gavin Report music reports document him programming the station during the mid-1980s.

Sources: Bobby Irwin career chronology; The Gavin Report, 1985–1986.

April 1983 — KKFM evening personality Dave Ryan is promoted to Music Director at the Colorado Springs rock station, replacing Jack Hamilton. New Program Director Chuck Finney handles middays while Ryan continues evenings.

Ryan, born David Kibler and raised in Black Forest, would later become nationally known for his long-running KDWB/Minneapolis morning show.

Source: Billboard, Apr. 9, 1983.

Miller Communications, owned by Rex R. Miller and Wiley Baucher, agreed to sell KCSJ 590 to Sunbrook Broadcasting for approximately $660,000–$700,000. Sunbrook principals included Larry Roberts, Alan Cooper and Ed Cooper. The purchase established the Sunbrook presence that later expanded into FM in Pueblo.

The 1490 AM facility briefly returned from KRTS to the KIIQ call letters before another identity change the following year.

KRQY 98.9 became KKMG, “Magic 99,” and adopted Top 40/CHR. Although still licensed to Pueblo and broadcasting on 98.9, the station would grow into an increasingly important competitor across the combined Pueblo–Colorado Springs radio landscape.

In 1983, Denver-area KMJD 92.1 changed to adult contemporary and adopted the KRKY call letters. The format lasted roughly a year before another change.

Source: FCC call-sign and KJMN station-history records.

A February 1983 Transtar trade advertisement used Colorado Springs’ Z93 as a case study for its satellite-delivered format. Transtar claimed a Fall 1982 14.6 share among adults 25–54 and said use of the service reduced station expenses by approximately $8,000 per month. These figures are preserved as Transtar’s own contemporary promotional claims.

On July 19, 1983, Denver’s 95.7 FM returned to Top 40 as KPKE, All Hit 96. The change followed a progressive-rock period under the KHOW-FM calls and turned 95.7 into one of the major competitors in Denver’s 1980s CHR battle.

KPKE became a strong ratings performer during the decade. In April 1986, Legacy Broadcasting, controlled by Robert F.X. Sillerman, acquired KPKE and KHOW. The All Hit 96 era ended the following year.

Sources: 95.7 facility chronology with cited trade sources; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio.

August 1983 — Jennifer Bell and Dave Brull became the new morning team at KILO 94. Bell continued as the station’s Assistant Program Director, while Brull moved from middays and continued as Production Director.

Sources: Radio & Records, Aug. 12, 1983; Billboard, Aug. 20, 1983.

1984 — Industry records place KSSS and KVUU together at 2860 S. Circle Drive, Suite 1200, identified as Cheyenne Center in Colorado Springs. The shared facility documents the physical pairing of the country AM and adult-contemporary FM during the Radio Colorado Springs era.

The address is confirmed again in the 1985 Broadcasting Yearbook. A May 1985 Broadcasting employment advertisement for the AM/FM combination also directs applicants to “KSSS/KVUU, 2860 S. Circle Dr., #1200,” independently confirming that this was an operating station facility rather than merely a directory mailing address. A March 1986 Cash Box radio directory again lists KSSS at 2860 S. Circle Drive #1200, extending the documented Cheyenne Center operation through at least 1986. This is especially notable because the later Clear Channel cluster would operate nearby at 2864 S. Circle Drive.

Sources: Standard Rate & Data Service, 1984–85; Broadcasting Yearbook, 1985.

September 1984 — Dave Ryan leaves KKFM/Colorado Springs to host mornings at KLUC/Las Vegas. Billboard reports that Jon Anderson takes over Ryan’s MD/APD responsibilities and Roger Miles moves into Ryan’s former evening shift. The move begins Ryan’s progression from Colorado Springs into larger-market morning radio.

Sources: Billboard, Sept. 15, 1984; Radio & Records, Sept. 14, 1984.

February 1984 — Radio & Records reports that KKFM/Colorado Springs has promoted Dave Ryan to Assistant Program Director/Music Director, expanding the responsibilities of the station’s evening personality.

Source: Radio & Records, Feb. 17, 1984.

KVOR 1300 had completed its transition from middle-of-the-road music into all-talk programming, using ABC TalkRadio and ABC Radio News after decades as a CBS affiliate.

KIIQ-FM 102.7 returned to contemporary-hit radio as KIKX, branded “Kicks 102.7.” Historical accounts describe KIKX as becoming one of the market’s highest-rated stations.

A 1984 Transtar trade advertisement lists the network at 620 South Pointe Court, Suite 185, Colorado Springs, and promotes Z93 as a ratings leader after adopting Transtar programming. This confirms Transtar’s Colorado Springs headquarters presence but does not by itself establish that Transtar occupied the same building as KVOR/Z93.

In 1984, KRKY 92.1 changed to jazz and adopted the KADX call letters. The jazz era lasted until 1988.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

Three applicants sought the new Pueblo FM facility on 107.9 MHz: Better Broadcasting Corp. filed December 23, 1983; MarTec Broadcasting Corp. January 3, 1984; and Southern Colorado Broadcasting April 23, 1984. Southern Colorado Broadcasting was 75% owned by Sunbrook Broadcasting and 25% by Deborah Kock, then sales manager at KCSJ, and proposed 100 kW.

In June 1984, KOA and KOAQ moved their radio studios and offices to 1380 Lawrence Street in Denver, separating the radio operations from their former television sister at the Lincoln Street facility.

Source: Broadcasting Yearbook 1984.

The former KBRR facility was using the KRMH call letters by August 1984. It later operated alongside KRMH-FM 93.5; the precise AM call-change date remains to be verified.

1984 — Bahakel Communications acquired KILO 93.9 from local ownership, beginning the ownership relationship that continues today.

Period yearbooks give an acquisition date of Aug. 14, 1984; FCC assignment paperwork was granted later that year. Duncan’s later transaction tables place the purchase at approximately $3.6 million.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1985; FCC assignment file BALH-19841113GI; Duncan’s Radio Market Guide, 1989.

Dave Steele began his radio career in 1985 at age 15 as a part-time Sunday operator at KKMG-FM “Magic 98.9,” then broadcasting from Pueblo. Steele later recalled that a snow closure on Interstate 25 led Program Director Lee Reynolds to put him on live overnight duty; Reynolds and Operations Manager Max Miller continued mentoring him afterward.

Source: Benztown, “7?s With Dave Steele”.

Mid-1980s — Contemporary trade advertising places the KVOR/KSPZ operation at 615 E. Brookside Street, Colorado Springs. The 1989 Broadcasting Yearbook continues to list KVOR at the same address, establishing Brookside as a significant studio/office era for the AM/FM pair.

KVOR had been documented at 512 S. Tejon Street through the early 1960s. An FCC action in 1972 then authorized KVOR-FM’s studio and remote-control location at 600 E. Brookside Street. By the mid-1980s, trade advertising identifies the paired KVOR/KSPZ operation at 615 E. Brookside. The separate 847 S. Circle Drive facility was associated with KKCS/KCMN-related operations and should not be treated as a KVOR studio without additional evidence.

Sources: Radio & Records employment advertising; Broadcasting Yearbook, 1989.

December 1985 — KKFM programmer Chuck Finney is appointed Corporate Program Director for Sky-HI, Inc., overseeing KKFM/Colorado Springs and KVMT/Vail. The promotion expands Finney’s role from local station programming into multi-station oversight.

Source: Radio & Records, Dec. 13, 1985.

1985 — Contemporary Gavin Report Adult Contemporary programming pages repeatedly credit “Irwin/Howard – KVUU”, documenting Bobby Irwin and John T. Howard together in the station’s mid-1980s programming operation. Howard remained associated with KVUU after Irwin’s 1986 departure.

Source: Gavin Report AC programming pages, 1985-1987.

Contemporary Gavin Report music reporting identifies Rip Avina at KDZA, providing direct evidence of the station’s programming personnel and playlist activity during the mid-1980s.

During the 1980s, KIIX 600 increased daytime power to 5,000 watts, added 500-watt nighttime operation and changed its city of license from Fort Collins to Wellington. The upgraded signal continued serving the broader Fort Collins-Greeley area.

Source: KCOL station-history records.

During the mid-1980s, Fort Collins-based KTCL 93.3 evolved toward modern rock and became known as The Adventure. The station’s eclectic alternative identity predated the explosion of alternative rock as a mainstream radio format in the 1990s.

Source: KTCL station-history records.

The FCC formally designated the mutually exclusive Pueblo 107.9 applications for a consolidated comparative hearing in MM Docket 85-119. Southern Colorado Broadcasting later withdrew as part of a settlement, making its Sunbrook-backed proposal an important never-built FM plan.

1986 — Bobby Irwin left KVUU in Colorado Springs for WISN/WLTQ in Milwaukee. The move ended his first Colorado Springs tenure after joining KVUU in 1983. He later programmed in Tampa and Seattle before returning to Colorado Springs in 1998.

Sources: Bobby Irwin career chronology; The Gavin Report, 1986.

1986 — Industry records place Bill Betts in charge of KKFM during the station’s newly rock-focused era. A December FMQB employment notice identifies Betts at KKFM’s Lakewood Circle studios; by August 1987 FMQB lists Betts as Program Director and Mark Stevens as Music Director.

Sources: FMQB, Dec. 12, 1986 and Aug. 28, 1987.

April 1986 — KKFM/96.5 moves away from contemporary hit radio and adopts a rock-oriented “Colorado Classics” approach, including album-oriented and classic-rock material. The change marks a major programming transition in the station’s evolution toward the classic-rock identity associated with KKFM in later decades.

Source: Radio & Records, Apr. 4, 1986; later KKFM station histories.

1986 — Captain Dan Jackson’s documented career chronology places him at KSSS from 1984-1987 and KVUU from 1986-1999, making him a bridge between the paired stations and the Bobby Irwin era and KVUU’s later 1990s morning-show history.

Source: 440 International career chronology.

Gavin Report correspondence identifies Rip Avina at KDZA Pueblo, Charles Darwin at KVRH Salida, and an Irwin/Howard programming team at KVUU Colorado Springs, preserving names often omitted from station histories.

Mike John left KCCY after serving as general manager since 1978, accepting a VP/GM post at Fuller-Jeffrey sister station KDJQ in Sacramento. Earlier in his career he had worked at WLOB Portland, Maine; WCAX Burlington; and WTSA Brattleboro.

KIKX 102.7 was a major CHR outlet under program/music director John Dantzer. Contemporary Cash Box reporting lists Dantzer as PD/MD and documents the station actively reporting current hits.

In the late 1980s, KFKA fell silent after Rainbow Broadcasting encountered financial trouble and bankruptcy. Colorado’s pioneering Greeley radio voice remained off the air for roughly seven months before new ownership restored service.

Source: KFKA Diamond Jubilee station history.

In December 1986, Western Cities Broadcasting purchased KLMO-FM 104.3, moved its transmitter site closer to Denver, substantially increased antenna height and power, changed the calls to KQKS, and launched adult contemporary 104.3 Kiss FM. The change transformed a Longmont FM into a major Denver-market signal.

Sources: Radio & Records; KQKS station-history records.

In December 1986, Western Cities Broadcasting acquired 104.3 FM, upgraded the former KLMO-FM signal toward the Denver market, changed the calls to KQKS and launched an adult contemporary format as 104.3 Kiss FM. The station would soon evolve into KS104.

Source: Radio & Records and station-history records.

Rip Avina continued to appear in contemporary trade reporting for KDZA, evidence that his programming role extended through at least 1987.

KKMG changed its branding from “Magic 99” to “The All New Magic FM,” reducing confusion with KVUU 99.9 while continuing its CHR development.

In 1987, Jacor Communications purchased Denver stations KOA and KOAQ for a reported $24 million. Two years later, KOAQ would become classic-rock KRFX/The Fox.

Sources: Denver radio histories; KRFX station-history records.

In 1987, the Ingstad Group restored KFKA 1310 to the air after approximately seven months of silence. The return preserved one of Colorado’s oldest continuously identifiable radio institutions.

Source: KFKA Diamond Jubilee station history.

The successful Pueblo 107.9 facility began broadcasting as KRYT with 100 kW and studios at 4211 N. Elizabeth. It was paired with KGHF 1350 and used the nickname “K-Right,” referring to 107.9’s position at the upper end of the FM dial. This was a different facility and ownership path from Sunbrook’s abandoned Southern Colorado Broadcasting application.

In June 1987, KPKE ended the All Hit 96 Top 40 format and 95.7 became soft adult contemporary KSYY, Sunny 95.7. The change closed one of Denver’s signature 1980s CHR runs.

The ownership of KHOW/KSYY then changed rapidly: Metropolitan Broadcasting acquired the pair in 1988, Command Communications followed, and Viacom acquired them in 1989. The 95.7 facility later returned to the KHOW-FM calls before becoming smooth-jazz KHIH in 1993.

Sources: 95.7 facility chronology and cited contemporary trade sources; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio.

Shamrock Communications flipped 105.1 from country KBRQ-FM to oldies as KOOL 105 on July 3, 1987. The station adopted the KXKL call letters and became one of Denver’s long-running oldies and classic-hits brands.

Sources: Radio & Records, July 10, 1987; FCC history cards — Facility 59959.

On July 3, 1987, 105.1 FM changed from country KBRQ to an oldies format branded KOOL 105, with the KXKL call letters. The format was also simulcast on 1280 AM during its early years.

Source: Radio & Records, July 10, 1987; station-history records.

On August 1, 1987, KQKS/KS104 shifted from adult contemporary to Top 40/CHR. The station later evolved toward a rhythmic presentation and became one of Denver’s defining contemporary-music brands.

Source: Radio & Records, August 7, 1987.

Bob and Diane Greenlee sold KBCO-FM and KADE-AM to Noble Broadcast Group in a transaction valued at $27.25 million. Contemporary Broadcasting reporting says the FCC granted the assignment October 7, 1987. Ray Skibitsky remained general manager as the stations entered the Noble era.

Sources: Broadcasting, October 26, 1987 — Changing Hands; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio chronology.

By 1988 — KKFM 96.5 is documented at 411 Lakewood Circle, Colorado Springs in the Broadcasting Yearbook, under Citadel Associates Limited Partnership. Earlier period directories place KKFM at 225 S. Academy Blvd., establishing a studio/office relocation between those documented facilities.

The Lakewood Circle address remained associated with KKFM well into the 1990s and later became part of the shared KKFM/KKMG operation. A Radio & Records employment advertisement dated April 29, 1994 specifically directed applicants for KKFM’s program-director/afternoon position to Paul V. Elbis at 411 Lakewood Circle, independently confirming active station operations at the address in 1994.

Sources: Broadcasting Yearbook, 1988; period KKFM station directories.

1988 — Veteran broadcaster Bobby Christian is documented at KVUU in Colorado Springs. Christian later became KVUU Program Director and remained in that leadership role until his 1995 departure.

Sources: 440 International career chronology; Billboard Airplay Monitor, Oct. 6, 1995.

A contemporary trade account cited a summer Birch 18 share for KILO. Competitive-era reporting also described KKMG rising from 5.2 to 7.1 while KIKX declined from 9.6 to 6.1. These figures are preserved as source-specific ratings snapshots rather than universal market averages.

Contemporary promotion reporting shows KIKX using its “Three Song Cash Sweep,” with more than $100,000 reportedly awarded. Group PD John Dantzer had returned to mornings after Bob DeBagia departed for Z93 in Amarillo.

A contemporary Gavin Report roster lists the “Magic Morning Zoo” with Rob Sherwood, Pete May and Donna Kelly from 6–10 a.m.; Damon Scott 10 a.m.–noon; Max Miller noon–2 p.m.; Lee Reynolds 2–6 p.m.; Scooter B. Stevens 6–10 p.m.; Aaron Feliciano 10 p.m.–midnight; and Kooch McKay midnight–6 a.m.

KKMG moved its studios and offices into the Colorado Springs area and shifted from mainstream CHR toward a rhythmic/Urban crossover approach. Owner/general manager Gary Goodell named Max Miller operations manager and Lee Reynolds music director/afternoon personality.

KATM 100.7 moved its competitive focus into Colorado Springs as mainstream Top 40, challenging established CHR KIKX. The 100.7 facility had begun in Pueblo in 1976 as easy-listening KZLO and later used the “Z100” Top 40 identity before becoming KATM, “The Kat.”

In 1988, KADX 92.1 ended its jazz format and became rock-formatted KZRZ. The rock incarnation was short-lived, lasting into 1989.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

John Dantzer was promoted to vice president/programming for First Sierra Communications stations KIKX Colorado Springs and KQIZ Amarillo, remaining based in Colorado Springs.

At exactly noon on April 6, 1988, the legendary KIMN 950 identity ended in Denver. The station that had dominated Denver Top 40 radio through much of the 1950s and 1960s became country-formatted KYGO on 950 AM.

Source: Colorado Music Hall of Fame, KIMN Radio history.

On April 22, 1988, Loveland’s 102.5 FM adopted the KTRR call letters, replacing the longtime KLOV-FM identity. KTRR spent decades in adult contemporary programming under the TRI 102.5 brand.

Sources: FCC call-sign history; KTRR station records.

On June 15, 1988, Melissa Etheridge stopped by KBCO to thank the station for supporting her debut album. With her guitar already in hand, engineer Mike Wiley set up microphones and Etheridge performed live on the air. The impromptu performance became the first session in what KBCO later called Studio C.

The first collection of Studio C recordings was released in 1991, beginning a long-running series of benefit albums built from intimate performances by visiting artists.

Sources: Boulder Weekly — Studio C history; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KBCO.

1989 — Price retired from KYGO-FM in 1989 after 36 years as a newscaster.

Related person: Gene Price. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Gene Price biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history; Colorado Music Hall of Fame — KIMN Radio.

Late 1989 — KILO Music Director Alan White left Colorado Springs radio for a Denver-based record-promotion position with Atco Records. Trade coverage subsequently identified the former KILO MD as Atco’s Denver local representative.

Sources: The Hard Report, Sept. 15 and Dec. 8, 1989.

1988–89 — KSSS and KVUU moved within their South Circle broadcast building from the 12th floor, Suite 1200, to Suite 150 on the first floor.

Industry directories still place the stations in Suite 1200 in 1988, while a December 1989 Radio & Records listing places the operation in Suite 150, tightly bracketing the internal move. Former-employee oral history adds a memorable detail from the 12th-floor era: the general manager was once trapped in the building elevator. The stations moved downstairs within the same general period.

The Suite 150 facility later became a major Colorado Springs radio center used by additional station groups and, eventually, Clear Channel/iHeartMedia.

Sources: 1988 industry directory; Radio & Records, December 1989; former-employee oral history.

October 1989 — Bill Betts leaves KKFM/Colorado Springs to become Program Director of KBPI/Denver. Contemporary trade reporting identifies Chris Baker as Betts’ successor at KKFM, marking another programming handoff in the station’s classic-rock era.

FMQB later listed the Betts-to-KBPI move among the major radio career changes of 1989.

Sources: Radio & Records, Oct. 27, 1989; FMQB, Dec. 15, 1989.

Lee Reynolds remained KKMG’s programmer and contemporary Gavin Report correspondence lists him for Pueblo/Colorado Springs. Reynolds had earlier programmed country KKCS and its AM sister KXXV, remembered as disco-formatted “Studio 153.”

In 1989, Denver-area 92.1 FM adopted the KYBG call letters. The station carried country and later talk programming before another major format change in 1995.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

On January 18, 1989, Denver’s 103.5 FM flipped from adult contemporary to classic rock, adopted the KRFX call letters and became 103.5 The Fox. The change established a classic-rock brand that would remain on the frequency for decades.

Source: Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio: 80 Years of Change; contemporary station-history records.

KATM moved away from straight mainstream Top 40 toward a rock-oriented “Rock 40” approach as KKMG’s rhythmic crossover format gained traction. Doug Sorenson arrived as KATM program director in February after working middays at WBZZ/B94 Pittsburgh.

September Gavin Report correspondence identifies Tom Fricke reporting for KATM, preserving another member of the station’s late-1980s programming operation.

1990 — Colorado College records show the building used by KRCC at 912 N. Weber Street was acquired in 1990. The address became a long-running home for the college’s public-radio station and remained KRCC’s office/studio address for decades.

Sources: Colorado College Buildings Infrastructure inventory; later KRCC/Colorado Public Radio records.

KGRQ 107.1 was listed as classic AOR, KRYT 107.9 as oldies, KATM 100.7 as CHR/album-oriented rock, KCSJ 590 as news/talk and KCCY 97.9 as country. Duncan’s Spring 1990 report noted that several Pueblo FMs were increasingly competing for Colorado Springs listening as well as Pueblo.

Contemporary M Street records still list KCCY at 97.9 MHz with 100 kW, but show an authorized construction permit for 96.9 and a further 96.9 application specifying 46.6 kW at 2,168 feet. The filings document the technical transition that ultimately moved KCCY to 96.9 and positioned it for the later Cheyenne Mountain master-antenna project.

Sunbrook reacquired KCSJ and KGRQ-FM from Rainbow Communications of Pueblo. KGRQ 107.1 was operating as contemporary-hit radio after earlier identities as KUSN and KCSJ-FM.

Rich Hawk was a central programming figure during KILO’s major rock-radio run. Later biographical records credit KILO with Billboard Station of the Year honors in 1988, 1989 and 1990 and Hawk with a Golden Ears award in 1990.

KSPZ changed from adult contemporary to oldies in January 1990, adopting the Oldies 92.9 identity. M Street Journal documented the Colorado Springs format change in its January 8, 1990 issue.

KSPZ 92.9 dropped its Z93 adult-contemporary identity and became “Oldies 92.9.”

March 1990 — Dave Milne moved from nights to mornings at KATM 100.7/The Kat during the station’s post-Doug Sorenson programming shuffle.

Source: Billboard, Mar. 17, 1990.

March 1990 — When Doug Sorenson transferred from KATM 100.7 to KATT/Oklahoma City, Kevin Burchfield moved into KATM’s programming leadership role after serving as APD and Promotion Director.

Sources: Billboard, Mar. 17, 1990; Hitmakers, June 22, 1990.

1991 — In 1991 he moved to KEZW-AM 1430 AM, originally expecting the assignment to last only a few months.

Related person: Rick Crandall. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Rick Crandall biography; Wings Over the Rockies — Meet Rick Crandall; Colorado Freedom Memorial — Rick Crandall; Colorado Freedom Memorial — History.

1991 — Etheridge began his radio career in 1991 as a board operator at KWYD-FM -AM, a daytime-only Christian talk station.

Related person: Uncle Steve Etheridge. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Uncle Steve Etheridge biography; Paul Kavanaugh, The Gazette, July 23, 2011, “‘Uncle Steve’ Etheridge returns to Springs radio on the New Cat Country”.

Kevin Lockhart’s professional biography documents four years at KTSC-FM while attending the University of Southern Colorado. He worked on-air as a DJ and talk-show host and served as assistant station manager, placing him at the station during its early-1990s AOR/alternative evolution and through the July 1995 creation of the Rev 89 identity.

Program director John Dantzer exited KIKX late in the year. Contemporary trade reporting identifies Bob Swisher handling the station on an interim basis and Dave “Jon” Anderson as music director.

Despite strong audience performance, KKMG 98.9 was reported to be losing money and entered a local marketing agreement with classic-rock KKFM. The arrangement foreshadowed the ownership consolidation that later placed KKMG under Citadel with KKFM.

In 1991, Joe Tennessen and a group of local investors operating as Weld Broadcasting Co. purchased KFKA, returning the station to local ownership. The station adopted an all-talk format.

Source: KFKA Diamond Jubilee station history.

Contemporary radio-industry and monitoring reports listed KRMH 1230 silent in early 1991 amid difficult economic conditions in Leadville.

By August 1991, KATM 100.7 had completed its transition from its late-1980s Rock 40 approach into full album rock. Period station listings identify Mark Blake as Program Director during this phase.

Sources: Billboard, Aug. 31, 1991; Broadcasting Yearbook, 1991.

December 1991 — Alan White returned to KILO 94.3 as Assistant Program Director and afternoon-drive personality after working in record promotion in Denver.

Sources: The Hard Report, Dec. 13, 1991; Billboard, Dec. 21, 1991.

1992 — He returned to KILO-FM in 1992 as vice president/general manager.

Related person: Lou Mellini. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Lou Mellini biography; Colorado Springs Gazette obituary/profile (2023); KILO, “Our Fallen Hero” memorial; Louis Mellini obituary, The Gazette via Legacy.

By 1992 — The KCBR/KCMN operation can be placed at 5050 Edison Avenue, Suite 218, Colorado Springs.

FCC microwave records show a link at 5050 Edison Avenue with a grant date of January 30, 1992. The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook independently lists KCBR at Suite 218, 5050 Edison Avenue, with the same 719-570-1530 telephone number later used by the paired KCBR/KCMN operation.

By 1994, the Radio Business Report Source Guide explicitly identifies KCBR-AM/KCMN-AM as a duopoly at 5050 Edison Avenue #218 and notes KCMN was acquired in 1988 and KCBR in 1992. The address continues in the 1996 and 1997 RBR directories. A later FCC microwave record explicitly labels the site “KCMN/KCBR Studio, 5050 E. Edison”, providing unusually strong confirmation that Edison was an actual studio facility rather than simply a business mailing address.

This represents a later chapter in the 1530 lineage after the earlier KRYT/KKCS facilities on South Circle Drive and distinguishes KCMN/KCBR from the other Colorado Springs clusters operating on Centennial Boulevard, South Circle Drive and Lakewood Circle during the 1990s.

Sources: FCC microwave records (grant Jan. 30, 1992; later record explicitly identifying KCMN/KCBR Studio); Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993; Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1994, 1996 and 1997.

September 1992 — An FMQB Colorado Springs market snapshot documents Chris Baker simultaneously as Program Director of classic-rock KKFM and Director of Programming at CHR KKMG. Scooter B. Stevens remains KKMG’s station PD while Mark Stevens is KKFM APD.

The dual role shows Citadel coordinating programming leadership across two very different Colorado Springs music formats.

Source: FMQB, Sept. 25, 1992.

Classic-rock KGRQ/Q107 was sold to Pueblo Broadcasters, owned by Marc O. Hand, and became KNKN.

Rich Hawk received industry recognition as Program Director of the Year. Catherine Swendsen was promoted to music director after three years with KILO.

Salem Communications purchased KATM 100.7 for $950,000. The station became KGFT “The Gift” and switched from rock to Christian talk and teaching.

July 1992 — Jennifer Bell joined KKCS for nights, replacing Rick Jason. Billboard identified Bell as coming directly from KATM 100.7, where she had been Music Director.

Source: Billboard, July 18, 1992.

At 5:30 a.m., KKFM shifted from its longtime 96.5 frequency to 98.1. The coordinated Front Range frequency change cleared spectrum for new KBIQ 96.1 in Colorado Springs and KXPK 96.5 in Denver, materially reshaping FM allocations along the Front Range.

November 1992 — KIKX 102.7 and KKCS entered a sales-only local marketing agreement. Billboard reported that KKCS General Manager Bob Gourley replaced KIKX GM Dennis Lamme as part of the arrangement.

Source: Billboard, Nov. 7, 1992.

Pikes Peak Broadcasting filed for renewal of KRDO-TV. The Colorado Springs Minority Coalition petitioned to deny the application, alleging violations of FCC Equal Employment Opportunity rules and requesting an investigation and hearing. The proceeding remained unresolved for several years.

KDZA 1230 simulcast KATM’s rock format early in the year, then oldies KRYT-FM after KATM became KGFT. Pueblo Community College agreed to buy 1230 for $120,000, and KDZA went silent in December while the sale was pending.

1993 — In late 1993 he joined Fort Collins alternative station KTCL-FM for morning drive, where his quick humor and unusually broad knowledge of music developed a loyal following.

Related person: Bret Saunders. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Bret Saunders biography; The Colorado Sun — Bret Saunders leaves KBCO after 28 years; Denver Gazette — Bret Saunders and the Colorado 150; Westword — “Sage Advice”.

1993–2002 — KKLI’s studio history traces several of the major ownership and cluster changes that reshaped Colorado Springs radio during the 1990s.

The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook lists KKLI at 2808 International Blvd. under Tippie Communications. On January 14, 1994, Radio & Records specifically reported that KKLI had moved to 2175 Academy Circle. A 1995 Gavin Report KKLI station profile and the 1996–97 Radio Business Report directories independently repeat 2175 Academy Circle, making that address particularly well documented.

KKLI subsequently joined KKFM and KKMG at 6805 Corporate Drive, Suite 130. A Colorado Springs Operational Area Emergency Alert System plan explicitly lists KKFM-FM/KKMG-FM/KKLI-FM together at that address, documenting KKLI’s Corporate Drive stage.

After the 1999 Citadel/Capstar station exchange, KKLI and KVUU went to Capstar; those operations subsequently became part of AMFM and then Clear Channel Communications. By 2002, the Radio Power Book lists KKLI and KVUU at 2864 S. Circle Drive, Suite 150 with the same 719-540-9200 telephone number. Thus the documented studio sequence is 2808 International Blvd. → 2175 Academy Circle → 6805 Corporate Drive → 2864 S. Circle Drive.

Sources: Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993; Radio & Records, Jan. 14, 1994; Gavin Report, Oct. 13, 1995; Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1996–97; Colorado Springs Operational Area EAS Plan; U.S. Department of Justice, April 28, 1999; Radio Power Book, 2002.

By 1993 — KILO’s published station address had moved from 707 S. Tejon Street to 1805 E. Cheyenne Road, the facility that remains KILO’s home today.

Period station directories document KILO at 707 S. Tejon through the 1990 Broadcasting Yearbook. The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook lists KILO itself at 1805 E. Cheyenne Road, establishing the move sometime between those directory dates.

FCC paperwork had used 1805 E. Cheyenne as the licensee address as early as a 1982 renewal filing, but that earlier corporate/licensee address should not be treated as proof that the station studios had already moved there while independent directories still listed 707 S. Tejon.

Sources: SRDS, 1983; Broadcasting Yearbook, 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1990; FCC historical filing BRH-19821201UH; Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993; KILO.

1993 — Veteran Southern Colorado personality Pete May adds KKFM/Colorado Springs to a career that had already included KKMG, KATM, KIIQ and KIKX. His career chronology places the KKFM stop between KIKX/The Max and KKCS-FM.

Source: Pete May career history preserved by 440 International/Radio Broadcasting History.

March 1993 — Chris Baker leaves Colorado Springs to become Program Director of KATT/Oklahoma City. Radio & Records explicitly identifies him as the former KKFM and KKMG/Colorado Springs programmer.

Baker had nearly made the same move in May 1992 but withdrew before starting, citing family considerations and remained in Colorado Springs for roughly another year.

Sources: Radio & Records, Mar. 5, 1993; The Hard Report, May 15, 1992.

Duncan’s 1993 market guide estimated Colorado Springs radio revenue at $10.5 million and ranked KKCS AM/FM, KKFM, KSPZ and KVUU as the market’s four highest-billing radio operations. The same period report showed an industry already moving toward consolidation, with local marketing agreements and a pending KVOR/KSPZ/KVUU/KSSS combination alongside the KKFM/KKMG relationship.

The Max / KIKX was documented in 1993 with a New Rock-era programming and air staff that included Tom Fricke as program director, Craig Koehn as music director and midday personality, Pete May, and Maria Anderson. The station changed direction later that year, making this a useful snapshot of the people behind the station during its New Rock era.

Optima Communications entered a local marketing agreement with Pikes Peak Broadcasting involving country KHII 105.5 in Security. Contemporary market guides subsequently listed KRDO-FM 95.1 and KHII among Colorado Springs operating arrangements, another example of pre-Telecommunications Act consolidation through LMAs and SMAs.

Duncan’s market report grouped KVUU-FM, KVOR, KTWK and KSPZ-FM under Pourtales ownership. Together the four stations accounted for a 22.3% 12+ audience share, 24.4% among adults 25–54 and an estimated 20.4% of Colorado Springs radio revenue, documenting substantial multi-station concentration before later consolidation.

1993 — Country KKCS AM/FM listed Bob Gourley as general manager, Jerry Grant as general sales manager, M. Theotis Etchason as promotions manager, Charlie Cassidy as program director, Dave Shepel as music director, Gwen Rhea as news director and Mel Rauh as chief engineer.

The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook printed the studio address as “1545 Centennial Blvd.,” but multiple period Radio Business Report directories and later independent listings consistently place the KKCS/KIKX operation at 5145 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200. The archive therefore treats “1545” as a publication typo and uses 5145 as the verified facility address.

Sources: Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993; Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1994–1997; later regional planning directory.

Duncan’s Spring 1993 report estimated the market generated about $10.5 million in radio revenue during 1992. Country KKCS-FM led the Winter 1993 12+ ratings with an 11.4 share, followed by classic/AOR KKFM at 9.8, CHR KKMG at 9.3, news/talk KVOR at 6.5 and oldies KSPZ at 6.2. Duncan estimated KKCS AM/FM as the highest-billing operation at about $2.2 million annually.

MarTec’s KRYT-FM 107.9 remained KRYT-FM through 1990; after McCoy acquired the facility in 1993, it became KDZA-FM, transferring the historic KDZA identity from 1230 AM after that station’s sale to Pueblo Community College. This corrects an apparent secondary-source claim that the FM had briefly become KGHF-FM in 1990.

By Spring 1993, McCoy Broadcasting owned country KCCY, oldies KDZA-FM 107.9 and MOR KGHF 1350. KCCY posted a 23.2 12+ share, up from 18.8 in Spring 1992, and ranked first in the source’s 18–34, 25–54, 35–64 and AM-drive breakouts. KDZA-FM and KCSJ each posted 5.5; KGHF and KRMX 4.4; newly returned KKPC 1.7.

Sangre de Cristo Communications, licensee of commercial KOAA-TV Channel 5, and the University of Southern Colorado, licensee of educational KTSC-TV Channel 8, jointly proposed exchanging their Pueblo channel assignments. The FCC opened MM Docket 93-191. Competing Colorado Springs interests including KKTV and Pikes Peak Broadcasting opposed the proposal, beginning a regulatory fight that ultimately reached federal court.

Dana Perino worked the 2–6 a.m. shift at country KCCY while attending college, a documented Pueblo radio air-staff footnote.

KBIQ signed on at 96.1 under The Word in Music Inc., a nonprofit Christian broadcaster that nevertheless operated the station commercially because 96.1 was outside the reserved noncommercial band.

KCCY’s frequency change cleared the way to relocate its transmitter from a lower Pueblo-area site to Cheyenne Mountain. With existing tower space unavailable, Cheyenne Propagation developed a new multi-station master FM antenna system. Contemporary engineering documentation describes ten Class C FM stations already operating from the mountain and notes structural and RF-exposure constraints affecting some installations.

KCCY moved from 97.9 to 96.9 MHz as part of the regional FM dial realignment.

The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook lists Rich Hawk as KILO station manager and program director, Greg Allen as promotions manager, Craig Kopp as music director, Gary Street as news director and John Gray as chief engineer. KILO remained album-oriented rock under Bahakel Communications and was listed at 1805 E. Cheyenne Road.

Source: Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993.

Pueblo Broadcasters Inc. completed its acquisition of the Pueblo 107.1 facility for $174,000. The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook lists William H. Johnson Jr. as general manager and Dave Atwood as operations manager, with a classics format targeting adults 35–64.

The former KDZA 1230 returned as KKPC under Pueblo Community College, initially carrying Business Radio Network programming. The historic KDZA calls moved to the 107.9 FM facility.

May 28, 1993 — Neil Cohen left his Promotion Director role at KIKX 102.7 “The Max” for Account Executive duties at sister station KKCS. Chrissy Addis succeeded him at KIKX.

Source: Radio & Records, May 28, 1993.

May 28, 1993 — Chrissy Addis was promoted from Promotions Assistant to Promotion Director at KIKX 102.7 “The Max”.

Source: Radio & Records, May 28, 1993.

June 25, 1993 — Maria Stevens, a morning-show intern at KIKX 102.7 “The Max”, moved into the station’s night shift after Dave Hawkins left for Production Director duties at crosstown KKFM.

Source: Radio & Records, June 25, 1993.

June 1993 — Dave Hawkins left nights at KIKX 102.7 “The Max” to become Production Director at KKFM. Maria Stevens moved into the KIKX night shift after his departure.

Source: Radio & Records, June 25, 1993.

July 1993 — After Catherine Swendson left KILO, Alan White again took on Music Director duties in addition to his Assistant Program Director role.

Source: Radio & Records, July 16, 1993.

Sept. 17, 1993 — Former KATT/Oklahoma City morning host Dave Milne joined KILO 94.3 for the night shift.

Source: Radio & Records, Sept. 17, 1993.

KIKX 102.7 dropped its New Rock/CHR approach and switched to country, removing one of the market’s longtime pop/rock competitors as KKMG strengthened its contemporary-hit position.

In October 1993, Denver’s 95.7 FM adopted the KHIH call letters and a smooth-jazz format after Noble Broadcast Group acquired the station. The KHIH identity had previously been used on 94.7 FM.

Source: Denver Post, October 31, 1993; station-history records.

In 1993, Jacor Communications acquired Denver rock station KAZY-FM 106.7 for $5.5 million, adding the station to a Denver operation that already included KOA and KRFX.

The purchase became especially important the following spring. With both rock facilities under related control, KBPI moved from 105.9 to KAZY’s 106.7 frequency on April 20, 1994, while the vacated 105.9 launched Alice.

Source: Radio Business Report Source Guide 1994 — Denver-Boulder market activity.

1994 — KILO changed frequency from 93.9 MHz to 94.3 MHz, returning the facility to the frequency on which KLST had originally signed on in 1962.

A September 1994 Popular Communications FCC/facilities roundup lists KILO’s Colorado Springs frequency change from 93.9 to 94.3. KILO has remained on 94.3 since the move.

Source: Popular Communications, Sept. 1994.

1994–95 — The RBR Source Guide documents the KIKX-FM/KKCS operation at 5145 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200, Colorado Springs. Wiskes/Abaris Communications operated KIKX 102.7 and, through an LMA, the Walton-owned KKCS 1460/101.9 combination from the same facility.

The shared operation included GM Bob Gourley, PD Charlie Cassidy, GSM Jerry Grant and chief engineer Mel Rauh. The 1995 Country Radio Seminar directory independently lists KIKX 102.7, KKCS 1460 and KKCS-FM 101.9 at 5145 Centennial with the same 719-594-9000 telephone number. A 1995 NASA attendee roster also identifies KKCS-FM News Director Tom Fricke at 5145 Centennial, confirming the building functioned as an operating station/newsroom facility rather than merely a mailing address.

The Centennial address can now be traced more confidently. The 1991 Broadcasting Yearbook lists KKCS at 5145 Centennial Blvd., Suite 200, with telephone 719-594-9000 and fax 719-594-9006. The 1993 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook prints 1545 Centennial Blvd. but retains the same Suite 200, ZIP code, telephone and fax; because 5145 is documented both before and repeatedly after 1993, the 1545 entry is best treated as an apparent directory transcription/typographical error rather than evidence of a studio move. A previously encountered 545 variant likewise remains uncorroborated.

Sources: Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1994; Country Radio Seminar Program Book, 1995; NASA attendee roster, 1995; Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993.

April 1994 — Citadel’s heritage classic-rock KKFM advertises nationally for a new Program Director/afternoon-drive personality. The opening documents another programming transition after Chris Baker’s 1993 departure and before Paul Johnson’s documented tenure as PD.

Source: Radio & Records, Apr. 29, 1994.

Duncan estimated Colorado Springs radio revenue at $13.3 million. Estimated station billings included KKCS at $3.2 million, KKFM $2.1 million, KSPZ $1.5 million, KKLI $1.2 million, KKMG $1.1 million, KVUU $1.0 million and KILO $975,000. Duncan estimated 50.4% of market revenue was controlled by duopolies.

KRDO-FM 95.1 dropped its longtime easy-listening approach and moved to adult contemporary under the “Peak 95.1” identity.

Citadel completed its $913,000 acquisition of KKMG 98.9, formalizing the relationship that had begun with the KKFM/KKMG LMA. Duncan’s Spring 1994 duopoly report credited Citadel’s KKFM/KKMG combination with 17.6% of 12+ listening, 16.8% among adults 25–54 and an estimated 22.4% of market radio revenue.

Magic FM moved back toward mainstream pop CHR after its rhythmic/Urban crossover period.

January 1994 — Dave Hawkins, then Production Director for KKFM/KKMG, joined KILO 94.3 as evening personality and Production Director.

Source: The Hard Report, Jan. 28, 1994.

Feb. 8, 1994 — With Alan White leaving KILO 94.3, night personality Dave Milne moved to afternoon drive and took over Assistant Program Director duties.

Source: The Hard Report, Jan. 28, 1994.

Feb. 8, 1994 — Alan White left KILO 94.3 to pursue opportunities outside radio. Dave Milne moved into afternoon drive and APD duties, while Dave Hawkins joined from KKFM/KKMG as evening personality and Production Director.

Source: The Hard Report, Jan. 28, 1994.

At 6 p.m. on April 20, 1994, Secret Communications moved KBPI and its rock format from 105.9 to the former KAZY facility at 106.7. On the vacated 105.9 frequency, Secret launched “Alice at 106 FM”, a new adult-leaning modern-rock format the company described as “Warp AC.”

Radio & Records reported the change nine days later, naming Gregg Cassidy as Alice’s program director. The original staff included Frosty Stillwell, Jamie White and Frank Kramer in mornings, Chris Davis middays, Alan Kabel afternoons, Jim Lawson as music director and Kelly Michaels in creative production. Temporary calls KAKL preceded KALC.

The frequency swap ended KAZY’s run on 106.7, moved KBPI onto the stronger 106.7 facility, and created the Alice identity that remains associated with 105.9.

Sources: Radio & Records, April 29, 1994 — Secret Communications Debuts Alice in Denver; KALC chronology and cited Denver Post references.

At 6 p.m. on April 20, 1994, Denver rock station KBPI moved from 105.9 FM to 106.7 FM, replacing longtime rock competitor KAZY on that frequency. The move gave KBPI the 106.7 signal it would use for more than two decades.

Source: Radio & Records, April 29, 1994; Denver Post coverage of the frequency change.

On June 8, 1994, KXPK 96.5 The Peak signed on with an adult album alternative format. Owned by Evergreen Communications, The Peak was designed in part to challenge KBCO for Denver adult-rock listeners.

Sources: Radio & Records, June 10, 1994; Westword, August 24, 1994.

KNKN 107.1 changed from country to Tejano, adding another Spanish-language/Tejano chapter to the Pueblo dial.

Longtime KVOR afternoon talk host Chuck Baker temporarily left his six-year-old local program after intense national attention, hate mail and telephone calls following the October 29 White House shooting by Widefield resident Francisco Martin Duran. Rumors circulated that Duran had been influenced by Baker’s program; Baker rejected that claim, and KVOR general manager Donn Seidholz denied that Baker had ever urged anyone to shoot President Clinton.

A December Hard Report profile documented Rich Hawk’s unusually long tenure at KILO and the station’s evolution through changing rock formats, ownership and frequency. Hawk recalled arriving in Colorado Springs in 1973, working in news and mornings at KPIK, and becoming part of the group that created KILO after Bob Telmosse and a partner acquired the FM.

KRLN-FM changed call letters to KSTY on December 30, 1994, establishing the Star Country identity that became associated with the Cañon City FM facility.

1995 — The partnership lasted 19 years, ending when Martin left KHOW-AM in 1995.

Related person: Charley Martin. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Charley Martin biography; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Charley Martin Hall of Fame biography; Denver Post — Charley Martin remembrance; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history.

October 1995 — KVUU Program Director Bobby Christian exits. Randy Hill, already Program Director of sister oldies station KSPZ, is promoted to Operations Manager of both KSPZ and KVUU.

Sources: Radio & Records, Oct. 6, 1995; Billboard Airplay Monitor, Oct. 6, 1995.

KKMG listed Paul V. Ellis as GM, Paul Johnson as GSM, Scooter Stevens as PD and Dan Remy as chief engineer. Sister KKFM listed Bret Fox as GSM and Paul Johnson as PD. Both operated from 411 Lakewood Circle in Colorado Springs.

By 1996 — The Pourtales Colorado Springs group was operating from 2864 S. Circle Drive, Suite 150. The 1996 RBR Source Guide places KVOR, KSPZ, KVUU and KTWK together at the facility, with Donn Seidholz as KVOR general manager, Kent Hildebrand as GSM, Jim Arthur as KVOR program director and Gary Meininger as chief engineer; Randy Hill programmed KSPZ, while John Savidge was KVUU GSM and Lee Olson its program director.

This establishes a major cluster consolidation. KVOR/KSPZ had previously been documented at 615 E. Brookside through the late 1980s, while the KSSS/KVUU lineage had earlier operated from 2860 S. Circle Drive. Thus, by 1996 multiple station lineages had converged at 2864 S. Circle.

FCC microwave records provide independent physical confirmation of the broadcast facility: a link explicitly identified as “STUDIO LOCATION, 2864 South Circle” received a grant dated April 3, 1998. Later Clear Channel and iHeart records continue to identify 2864 S. Circle as a Colorado Springs radio studio complex.

Sources: Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1996; FCC microwave records; later Radio Power Book and iHeart station records.

KIKX 102.7 was programming an all-1970s oldies format under the Kicks identity.

KILO listed Lou Mellini as GM, Jerry Cobb as GSM, Rich Hawk as PD and John Gray as chief engineer, operating from 1805 E. Cheyenne Road.

Renae Roberts joined KVUU doing weekend overnights and soon became “Stunt Girl” with Captain Dan and Paul Richards on the morning show.

In 1995, KHOW 630 moved from its longtime personality-driven adult contemporary/MOR approach to an all-talk format. The change ended the station’s music-centered era.

Source: Westword retrospective on KHOW history.

In 1995, KTCL became part of a joint sales arrangement with Denver rock stations KBPI and KRFX. The arrangement came during a period of rapid consolidation in Denver radio and coincided with KTCL adjusting its music direction as KBPI emphasized newer rock.

Source: contemporary KTCL and Denver radio histories.

On March 29, 1995, KYBG 92.1 flipped to modern rock and became KNRX, 92-X. The alternative format lasted less than a year before the station’s dramatic 1996 switch to JAM’N 92.1.

Sources: Radio & Records, April 7, 1995; KJMN station-history records.

On April 18, 1995, 100.3 FM adopted the KIMN call letters and branded as KIM 100, reviving the call sign made famous by Denver’s former 950 AM Top 40 powerhouse. The station was then running an all-1970s format.

Sources: KIMN 100.3 chronology and cited trade reports; Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1997.

KTSC-FM adopted “The Revolution / Rev 89” identity and modern-rock programming. University history identifies July 4, 1995 as the launch date and describes it as Southeastern Colorado’s first modern-rock station.

KTSC-FM adopted “The Revolution / Rev 89” identity and a modern-rock format. CSU-Pueblo’s later station history calls it Southeastern Colorado’s first modern-rock station and says this was the first time in KTSC’s 25-year history that the station used an actual name rather than simply call letters and frequency. The university retrospective describes a rapid early-1990s evolution toward U2, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana.

Triathlon Broadcasting president/CEO Norman Feuer, formerly chief operating officer of Pourtales Radio Partnership, exercised an $18.5 million option to acquire ten Pourtales stations in three markets. The Colorado Springs properties were KTWK 740, KVOR 1300, KSPZ 92.9 and KVUU 99.9.

Citadel Communications and Pourtales Radio Partnership entered a joint sales agreement covering their Colorado Springs and Spokane stations. Citadel set advertising prices, sold airtime, collected advertiser payments, deducted expenses and divided profits with Pourtales. Triathlon subsequently became Pourtales’ successor under the agreement.

1996 — She joined KOA-AM in 1996 and became known for her long-running partnership with Steffan Tubbs, interviews with newsmakers and steady presence during breaking news.

Related person: April Zesbaugh. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: April Zesbaugh biography; April Zesbaugh Signs Off After 26 Years on KOA, 5280.

Jacor Communications agreed in February 1996 to acquire Noble Broadcast Group for $152 million in cash, a deal announced immediately after passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Radio & Records reported that the purchase would give Jacor eight Denver stations: its existing KOA, KTLK, KBPI and KRFX plus Noble’s KHOW, KBCO AM/FM and KHIH.

The transaction was part of the rapid consolidation that reshaped U.S. radio after the 1996 ownership-rule changes. Jacor later became part of Clear Channel Communications.

Sources: Radio & Records, February 9, 1996 — Jacor, Triathlon Hit New Market Limits; Broadcasting & Cable, February 3, 1997 — transaction summary; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio chronology.

1996 — The Radio Business Report Source Guide lists Paul Johnson as Program Director of AOR/classic-rock KKFM 98.1, with Bret Fox as GSM. The listing provides a firm anchor for Johnson’s rise into Citadel Colorado Springs programming management.

Source: Radio Business Report Source Guide & Directory, 1996.

KKMG led Colorado Springs 12+ with a 10.8 share, followed by KKFM 9.4, KKCS AM/FM 8.9, KILO 8.2 and KSPZ 6.5. R&R demographic rankings showed KKMG first among 12–17 listeners; KKFM first in 18–34, 18–49 and 25–54; and KKCS first among 35–64 listeners.

Salem acquired KBIQ 96.1 and KIKX 102.7. In the fall, the KBIQ Christian AC format and calls moved to 102.7; 96.1 became KPRZ “Praise 96.”

Triathlon acquired KVOR and KSPZ while also controlling KVUU and KSSS/KTWK. Advertising time on the group was handled through an LMA/JSA with Citadel, illustrating the rapid consolidation following federal deregulation.

Contemporary industry listings document Bob Gourley, Bob Freeman, Charlie Cassidy and Mel Rauh at KIKX; Oleene Greenwood, Gary Dall, Dave Moore and Dan Thomas at KCCY; Nick Donovan at KDZA-FM; Dick Bruso, Larry Myers and Art Pemberton at KGFT; Lee Douglas and Norm Smith at KKPC; Iva Rafferty and Mike Lee at KKNK; Jerry De La Cruz and Diane Young at KRMX; Julio Gutierrez, Hilda Perez and Norm Smith at KRRU; Steve Downes, Lorri Froehlich, Jay Diamond Salas and Norm Smith at KYZX; Dave Harrell at KCSJ; and Greg Hargrove at KGHF.

In 1996, Denver’s 99.5 FM ended its long-running KVOD classical identity and became KKHK. The frequency went through a new music era before Entercom acquired the station in 2002.

Sources: Denver Post, February 26 and March 1996; station-history records.

On February 18, 1996, Denver’s commercial classical format moved from 99.5 FM to the 92.5 facility then known as KZDG. The new station adopted the KVOD identity, preserving the classical service as Tribune prepared to convert 99.5 to classic rock.

For a transition period, the two frequencies simulcast. The 92.5 station formally adopted the KVOD calls in March 1996. A 1997 industry directory listed KVOD-FM at 92.5 with Pam Kenny as general manager and Jim Conder as program director.

Sources: Radio Business Report Source Guide 1997 — Denver station directory; 92.5 facility chronology with cited contemporary reports; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — KVOD history.

At 8 p.m. on February 29, 1996, modern-rock KNRX 92.1 flipped to rhythmic contemporary as KJMN, JAM’N 92.1. The launch was especially notable because the new station recruited much of the competing KS104 air staff, escalating one of Denver radio’s most memorable format battles.

Source: Denver Post, February 29, 1996; contemporary station-history records.

May 1996 — After beginning in college radio in 1988 and working his first commercial overnight shift in Farmington, New Mexico, Kremer joined KTCL-FM in May 1996.

Related person: Alf Kremer. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Alf Kremer biography; Colorado Music Buzz — Backyard Hero: Alf from KTCL; Denver Westword — The Beatdown; 5280 — Denver’s Music Scene.

Oldies 92.9 program director Randy Hill advertised openings for both midday and afternoon-drive personalities, seeking “adult relatable” talent comfortable working listener phones and describing KSPZ as an all-digital operation. The openings came during the station’s transition into the Triathlon era.

CMJ’s contemporary loud-rock reporting listed Sam Lovato as the KTSC contact. A June playlist included Metallica, Sepultura, Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, Bad Religion, Gravity Kills and Skinny Puppy, documenting the harder musical edge of Rev 89’s first full year after adopting The Revolution identity.

Triathlon Broadcasting acquired KSPZ 92.9 and KVOR as part of its expansion in Colorado Springs during the 1990s, placing the longtime 92.9 facility in a cluster that also included KVUU and KTWK.

In November 1996, Western Cities Broadcasting sold KQKS/KS104 to Jefferson-Pilot Communications for a reported $15 million. The sale set up a major frequency move for the rhythmic station two months later.

Source: contemporary trade reporting and station-history records.

1997 — She joined iHeartMedia’s Denver operation in 1996 and fulfilled a childhood ambition when she began working at KBCO-FM in 1997.

Related person: Robbyn Hart. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Robbyn Hart biography; KBCO — Robbyn Hart biography and current schedule; Deane Media Solutions — Hart named KBCO midday host; Westword — 2022 iHeartMedia Denver changes.

1997 — Saunders moved to KBCO-FM in 1997 and anchored mornings there for more than 28 years.

Related person: Bret Saunders. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Bret Saunders biography; The Colorado Sun — Bret Saunders leaves KBCO after 28 years; Denver Gazette — Bret Saunders and the Colorado 150; Westword — “Sage Advice”.

KKMG remained Colorado Springs’ leading mainstream CHR outlet while KILO, KKFM, KKCS, KCCY, KVOR, KVUU and KSPZ formed a highly competitive field. Contemporary ratings published the following year show KKMG maintaining double-digit 12+ shares through this period.

In January 1997, EXCL Communications, later part of Entravision, acquired 92.1 FM. The purchase set up the end of JAM’N and the launch of Spanish-language programming on the frequency.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

On January 8, 1997, Jefferson-Pilot moved the KQKS calls and rhythmic format from 104.3 to the stronger 107.5 FM signal and relaunched the station as KS1075. The move replaced the KHHT format on 107.5 and reshaped Denver’s rhythmic-radio battle.

Source: contemporary station-history records and Denver radio histories.

February 1997 — Dave Hawkins left the evening shift at KILO 94.3 after roughly three years at the station.

Source: Radio & Records, February 1997.

On March 30, 1997, JAM’N 92.1 ended its rhythmic format after EXCL Communications acquired the station. The frequency became Spanish adult contemporary Radio Romántica 92.1, described in station histories as Denver’s first Spanish-language FM outlet.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

The FCC resolved the KRDO-TV renewal challenge without designating it for hearing and renewed the license. The Commission nevertheless found deficiencies in minority recruitment efforts and issued an $8,000 Notice of Apparent Liability. The FCC did not find that the station had engaged in employment discrimination.

June 1997 — Dave Hawkins joined country station KKCS for nights after his KILO run.

Source: contemporary Radio & Records personnel coverage, June 1997.

Triathlon filed FCC Form 316 applications reorganizing its holdings into regional license companies. KTWK 740, KVOR 1300, KSPZ 92.9 and KVUU 99.9 were assigned within the company to the newly named Triathlon Broadcasting of Colorado Springs Licensee, Inc.

On December 30, 1997, Jacor Broadcasting donated the FCC license, transmitter site and related equipment for KBCO-AM 1190 to the University of Colorado Foundation. The donation gave CU’s student-radio effort the broadcast facility it had spent years trying to secure.

During 1998, committees developed the new service and the former KBCO-AM facility became Radio 1190, creating a new student-programmed chapter in the frequency’s history.

Sources: KVCU Radio 1190 — official history; Duncan’s American Radio Trilogy — Denver station transactions.

On December 30, 1997, Jacor Broadcasting donated the FCC license, transmitter site and related equipment for 1190 AM to the University of Colorado Foundation. The donation created the foundation for the student-run Radio 1190 operation that followed in Boulder.

Source: KVCU Radio 1190 official station history.

1998 — After programming stops in Milwaukee, Tampa and Seattle, Bobby Irwin moved his family back to Colorado Springs and began what became a 26-year run with the Citadel/Cumulus cluster. By January 1999, industry airplay records list him as Program Director of KKMG 98.9 Magic FM.

Sources: Deane Media Solutions, 2012; Billboard Airplay Monitor, Jan. 8, 1999.

1998 — The dismissal of Alysabeth “Beth” Clements, morning co-host at Citadel classic-rock station KKFM, becomes a nationally reported radio-industry story after an on-air discussion of Taco Bell’s charge for food substitutions.

Radio & Records reported that Clements said Taco Bell threatened to withdraw significant advertising after her comments. KKFM Operations Manager Paul Johnson told the Colorado Springs Gazette that the Taco Bell remarks were “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” indicating management considered them the final issue rather than the sole reason for dismissal. Clements continued to maintain publicly that advertiser pressure caused her firing. The archive preserves these as competing attributed accounts; the available sources do not independently establish which explanation was decisive.

The episode occurred while KKFM remained a significant Colorado Springs ratings player: R&R’s 1998 market directory shows the station moving from a 7.6 12+ share in Spring 1997 to 6.7 in Spring 1998.

Sources: Radio & Records, July 3, 1998; R&R Ratings Directory, 1998; contemporaneous first-person statements by Alysabeth Clements.

Jason Janc joined KILO as an announcer, beginning a long association with Bahakel’s Colorado Springs radio operation.

R&R lists Rich Hawk as station manager/program director and Don Jantzen as assistant program director/music director. An October reporting panel shows KILO adding Jerry Cantrell, Black Sabbath and Janus Stark, illustrating the station’s active-rock/new-music orientation.

In 1998, Clear Channel Communications agreed to acquire Fort Collins stations KIIX 600 and KTCL 93.3 in a transaction reported at $6.1 million. The deal brought the longtime Northern Colorado stations into the rapidly expanding Clear Channel group.

Sources: contemporary transaction records; station histories.

A February Billboard market table shows KKMG at 10.0 in the latest listed 12+ book, followed by KKCS AM-FM at 8.8, KKFM 8.6, KILO 7.9, KCCY 7.4, KVOR 6.0, KVUU 5.0 and KSPZ/KKLI 4.5. These figures are a specific published ratings snapshot, not permanent rankings.

Pueblo’s KYZX 104.5 replaced its satellite country format with ABC-supplied classic rock. The station had signed on in 1993 as hot AC and switched to ABC’s Real Country in 1996. The 1998 change created the format that would soon become associated with “103.9 The Eagle.”

September 1998 — Dave Hawkins returned to KILO-FM in September 1998.

Related person: Dave Hawkins.

Sources: Dave Hawkins biography.

September 1998 — In September 1998 he left KKCS-AM to return to KILO .

Related person: Dave Hawkins. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Dave Hawkins biography.

September 1998 — Dave Hawkins left KKCS and returned to KILO 94.3, continuing his long association with the station.

Source: contemporary Radio & Records personnel coverage, Sept. 1998.

On October 12, 1998, KXPK 96.5 The Peak shifted toward a younger alternative-rock presentation and added the syndicated Howard Stern Show in mornings while retaining The Peak branding.

Source: Radio & Records, October 16, 1998.

1999 — In 1999 Roberts joined Captain Dan and Paul Richards full-time on the KKLI-FM 106.3 morning show.

Related person: Renae Roberts. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Renae Roberts biography.

1999 — A federal antitrust settlement ended the joint sales arrangement between Citadel and Triathlon/Capstar in Colorado Springs and reshaped the stations operating around the 2864 S. Circle cluster.

Before the settlement, Citadel sold advertising for its own KKFM, KKMG and KKLI as well as Triathlon-owned KVUU, KSPZ, KVOR and KTWK. Under the resulting station exchange, Citadel retained/acquired KKFM, KKMG, KSPZ, KVOR and KTWK, while Capstar received KKLI and retained KVUU.

The Justice Department said the combined Citadel/Triathlon arrangement represented approximately 58 percent of Colorado Springs radio advertising revenue. The settlement terminated that joint sales agreement and separated the station groups competitively.

The ownership split should not be read as proof that every station changed studios at the same moment. KKLI’s documented facility sequence includes its Corporate Drive stage before joining KVUU at South Circle. By the 2002–03 M Street Radio Directory, Clear Channel listed both KKLI and KVUU at 2864 S. Circle Drive, Suite 150 with the same 719-540-9200 telephone number. Later M Street directories document KCCY and KIBT there as part of the Clear Channel cluster as well.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, April 28, 1999; M Street Journal, March 10, 1999; RBR Source Guide, 1997; M Street Radio Directory, 2002–03 and later editions.

Around the same period KVUU evolved from adult contemporary toward Hot AC. Capstar’s properties would soon become part of AMFM Inc., which was then absorbed into Clear Channel in the following consolidation wave.

Pueblo Broadcasters sold KYZX, KGHF and KCSJ to Cy Bahakel’s Colorado Springs Radio Broadcasters, owner of KILO, for $4.5 million. The deal created a direct ownership bridge between major Pueblo heritage stations and KILO’s Colorado Springs operation.

Clear Channel Communications completed its acquisition of Jacor Communications in May 1999, bringing Jacor’s large Denver cluster under Clear Channel ownership. A later federal court summary of the Denver market states that the Jacor acquisition gave Clear Channel eight Denver stations, the FCC ownership maximum.

At the same time, Jacor had already begun planning a consolidated Denver Tech Center studio facility for KOA, KHOW, KTLK, KHIH, KRFX, KBPI and KTCL. Ownership transferred to Clear Channel while that facility was being built.

Sources: Radio World — Clear Channel Denver, December 1, 2000; Nobody in Particular Presents v. Clear Channel — Denver ownership history.

FCC transfer filings moved KSPZ, KTWK and KVOR from the Capstar/Triathlon trust to Citadel, while KKLI moved from Citadel to Triathlon/Capstar. Contemporary transaction tables describe the exchange as KKLI plus $10 million for KTWK, KVOR, KSPZ and related assets. The private exchange preceded the federal antitrust settlement later that spring.

KYZX swapped frequencies with KSTY in Cañon City, moving from 104.5 to 103.9 MHz and changing its community of license from Pueblo to Pueblo West. It continued classic rock as “103.9 The Eagle.”

The U.S. Justice Department challenged the joint sales arrangement between Citadel Communications and Triathlon Broadcasting in April 1999. Citadel sold advertising for Triathlon-owned KSPZ, KVOR, KVUU and KTWK as well as its own local stations; the government said the combined group represented about 58 percent of Colorado Springs radio advertising revenue.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued Citadel Communications, Triathlon Broadcasting and Capstar Broadcasting over the companies’ joint sales arrangement. Citadel was setting prices and selling advertising for its own KKFM, KKMG and KKLI as well as Triathlon-owned KVUU, KSPZ, KVOR and KTWK. DOJ alleged the arrangement represented approximately 58 percent of Colorado Springs radio advertising revenue and reduced price competition and advertiser choice.

On May 21, 1999, the commercial KVOD classical format left 92.5 FM and moved to Denver’s 1280 AM facility. The 92.5 station became KDJM with a Jammin’ Oldies format, while 1280 adopted the KVOD calls and continued classical programming.

The move was the second major frequency change for KVOD in three years and reduced the classical service from an FM signal to a 5,000-watt AM facility. In 2000, Colorado Public Radio acquired the KVOD call letters and music library, leading to a noncommercial FM revival.

Sources: KVOD chronology and cited transaction references; 92.5 facility chronology; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — KVOD history.

In 1999, Citadel fully acquired KSPZ, KVOR and KTWK as the Citadel/Triathlon Colorado Springs holdings were reorganized, ending the prior joint-sales arrangement and bringing 92.9 directly into the Citadel cluster.

KSTY moved from 103.9 to 104.5 MHz in 1999 as part of a frequency exchange with Pueblo station KYZX, which moved from 104.5 to 103.9.

July 1999 — Dave Hawkins moved from KILO, where he had again been Production Director, to KVUU/K-View 99.9 for middays while also handling production and imaging.

Source: contemporary Radio & Records personnel coverage, July 1999.

Citadel and Capstar agreed to terminate the Citadel/Triathlon joint sales agreement. Citadel was to own KKFM, KKMG, KSPZ, KVOR and KTWK, while Capstar would own KKLI and KVUU. DOJ estimated the post-transaction groups at approximately 40 percent and 16 percent of Colorado Springs radio advertising revenue, respectively. The federal court entered final judgment August 24.

Jacor began planning a consolidated Denver Tech Center facility in October 1998 for KOA, KHOW, KTLK, KHIH, KRFX, KBPI and KTCL. The old studio lease expired in September 1999, creating a firm construction deadline. During the project, Clear Channel acquired Jacor.

Radio World reported that the completed five-story complex had a basement technical center with 46 equipment racks and, when finished, was the largest radio facility yet built in the United States. The project physically consolidated seven major Denver stations that had grown through Jacor’s acquisitions.

Source: Radio World — Clear Channel Denver, December 1, 2000.

Only months after Bahakel acquired KCSJ, KGHF and KYZX for $4.5 million, Bahakel agreed to sell KCSJ 590 and KGHF 1350 to Craig W. McCoy’s McCoy Broadcasting for $912,000 cash. McCoy already owned KCCY and KDZA-FM in Pueblo, reassembling a four-station Pueblo group while Bahakel retained KILO and KYZX.

On November 5, 1999, Clear Channel swapped the identities of two Northern Colorado AM stations. KIIX moved from 600 to 1410 AM, while the KCOL calls moved from 1410 to 600 AM. KCOL 600 adopted talk, while KIIX 1410 moved into sports programming.

Sources: FCC call-sign history; Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook.

around 2000 — Travis Daily joined KMOM-FM around 2000.

Related person: Travis Daily.

Sources: Travis Daily biography.

2000 — He joined KBIQ-FM 102.7 FM in 2000 and stayed through 2006.

Related person: Uncle Steve Etheridge. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Uncle Steve Etheridge biography; Paul Kavanaugh, The Gazette, July 23, 2011, “‘Uncle Steve’ Etheridge returns to Springs radio on the New Cat Country”.

2000 — Around 2000 he left KKCS-AM for Clear Channel’s classic-rock KMOM .

Related person: Travis Daily. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Travis Daily biography.

October 2000 — Citadel promotes Bobby Irwin from KKMG Program Director to Operations Manager of its five-station Colorado Springs cluster. The move marks the transition from the Paul Johnson era of cluster operations leadership, although Johnson remains documented as KKFM Program Director until his 2001 exit.

Source: Radio & Records, Oct. 13, 2000.

In March 2000, KVUU night personality Craig Coffey moved to morning drive and joined Casey Page and Jim Coda, the existing morning team from sister classic-rock KXZZ. The new combination replaced Rich and Michelle in KVUU mornings.

The U.S. Justice Department required a large package of station sales before approving Clear Channel’s merger with AMFM in 2000. In Denver-Boulder, the divestiture list included KXPK-FM to Emmis; KDJM-FM, KIMN-FM and KXKL-FM to CBS; KALC-FM to Salem; and KVOD-AM to a buyer to be determined.

The federal action illustrates how the post-1996 consolidation wave directly reshaped Denver station ownership rather than simply changing corporate names above otherwise stable clusters.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice — July 20, 2000 divestiture list; U.S. Department of Justice — Clear Channel/AMFM merger divestitures.

On September 1, 2000, 104.3 FM changed from classic country to smooth jazz after KHIH abandoned the format. The station adopted the KJCD call letters and became CD104.3.

Source: 104.3 station-history records and contemporary Denver radio reporting.

On September 1, 2000, KHIH 95.7 dropped smooth jazz and flipped to Top 40. The change temporarily removed smooth jazz from Denver FM until the format resurfaced on 104.3 later that day.

Source: contemporary Denver radio and station-history records.

On September 5, 2000, KXPK 96.5 The Peak abandoned alternative rock for an all-1980s format. The change also ended the station’s carriage of Howard Stern.

Sources: contemporary Denver business reporting; station-history records.

2001 — A Denver native, Chonz joined KQKS-FM (KS107.5) in 2001 and became the first DJ to mix live on commercial radio in the city.

Related person: DJ Chonz. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: DJ Chonz biography; Denver DJ School — DJ Chonz biography; DJ Chonz Foundation — biography; DJ Chonz Foundation — mission.

2001 — In 2001, Jantzen left KILO-FM for KQRC in Kansas City, where he took on afternoon drive and APD/Music Director duties.

Related person: Don Jantzen. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Don Jantzen biography; Rock Airplay Monitor, November 20, 1998 — KILO station listing; FMQB, March 10, 2000 — Jantzen promoted to KILO PD/MD; Radio & Records, August 24, 2001 — Jantzen moves to KQRC.

April 2001 — National trade publication FMQB reports that KKFM Program Director Paul Johnson has exited. Johnson had been documented as KKFM PD since at least 1996 and had also served in broader Citadel Colorado Springs programming management.

Source: FMQB, Apr. 27, 2001.

January 2001 — Tammy Oakland exited the morning show at KKCS. Country Airplay Monitor reported that Singer and Sherry moved from afternoons to mornings as her replacement.

Source: Country Airplay Monitor, Jan. 19, 2001.

August 2001 — Tammy Oakland joined KSPZ Oldies 92.9 after previously working at KKCS. She remained with the 92.9 facility through its 2006 transition to KKPK/Peak FM and continued there until 2010. Oakland later received the Colorado Broadcasters Association’s 2009 Major Market Broadcast Citizen of the Year honor.

Sources: Tammy Oakland professional history; Radio and Music Pros; Colorado Broadcasters Association; contemporary Colorado Springs radio references.

A preserved KVUU website captured by the Internet Archive documents the station’s weekday lineup on September 7, 2001. Jim Coda, Casey Page and Craig Coffey were listed together from 5:30–10 a.m.; Dave Hawkins hosted 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; Jeannine James 3–7 p.m.; Jarrod Long 7 p.m.–midnight; and Jen Green midnight–5:30 a.m.

By 2002 — Bob Gourley was serving as General Manager of Clear Channel’s Colorado Springs operation. Period industry directories list him as GM for the cluster, including KKLI and KVUU.

Source: Radio Power Book 2002 / period industry directory.

By approximately 2002 — Citadel had completed the consolidation of its Colorado Springs radio group at 6805 Corporate Drive, Suite 130, inside the former Tiffany Square shopping complex.

The consolidation brought together station lineages that had operated from separate broadcast centers. A 1994 Radio Business Report market listing documents KKFM and KKMG together at 411 Lakewood Circle, Penthouse. Separately, the 1996 RBR Source Guide documents KVOR, KSPZ, KVUU and KTWK at 2864 S. Circle Drive, Suite 150. These dated records establish the two principal pre-Corporate Drive operating centers without assuming that every station moved at the same moment.

A period DX publication reproduces Citadel Broadcasting Company information identifying KKFM, KKMG, KSPZ, KVOR and KBZC together at “Tiffany Square, 6805 Corporate Drive, Suite 130,” establishing that the former S. Circle stations had joined the Corporate Drive facility by roughly 2002.

The building itself has an unusual history: Tiffany Square was built in the 1980s as an upscale fashion mall and was later adapted for other uses, including the radio studios. The radio cluster has remained at 6805 Corporate Drive through the Citadel-to-Cumulus era; current KVOR, KKFM and KKMG station information still identifies Suite 130 as their studio location.

Sources: Radio Business Report Source Guide, 1994 and 1996–97; Colorado Springs Operational Area EAS Plan; NRC DX News, Vol. 70 (2002–03); Colorado Springs Gazette history of Tiffany Square; current KVOR, KKFM and KKMG station information.

In January 2002, Tribune Broadcasting sold Denver’s 99.5 FM facility to Entercom Communications. The station was then operating as classic-rock/classic-hits KKHK “The Hawk.”

The Entercom acquisition set up the next major identity change on the frequency: a few months later, KKHK became “99.5 The Mountain” and adopted the KQMT call letters.

Sources: KQMT chronology with Denver Post and Radio & Records references; Radio & Records archive, January 2002.

On April 18, 2002, KXPK 96.5 The Peak ended its English-language music format. The station temporarily simulcast KALC before Entravision took control and launched its Radio Tri-Color Regional Mexican format.

Source: KXPK station-history records.

In 2002, Denver’s 99.5 FM dropped the KKHK “Hawk” identity and became “99.5 The Mountain,” adopting the KQMT call letters. The change established the Mountain brand that has remained on the frequency for more than two decades.

The 99.5 facility itself was much older: it began as KDEN-FM, became classical KVOD in 1969, and changed to KKHK after the classical format moved to 92.5 in 1996.

Sources: KQMT chronology and cited Denver newspaper/trade sources; 99.5 The Mountain — current station site.

By the 2002–03 M Street Radio Directory, Jim Berry was Program Director of KSPZ Oldies 92.9 and also hosted mornings. Berry later recalled taking the Colorado Springs station to number one and remembered its charity and community promotions as highlights of his time there.

A preserved KVUU website captured on December 21, 2002 lists the station’s on-air voices as Casey Page and Craig Coffey, Lara Scott, A.J. Carlisle, Chris Austin and Sturge. The archived page identifies the personalities in lineup order but does not display their airshift times. Compared with the station’s September 2001 web lineup, Casey Page and Craig Coffey remained while Dave Hawkins, Jeannine James, Jarrod Long and Jen Green were no longer shown; Lara Scott, A.J. Carlisle, Chris Austin and Sturge appear on the later roster.

2003 — Powers joined KKMG-FM /Magic FM for middays in 2003 .

Related person: Woody Powers. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Woody Powers biography; Official CBA 2023 radio results; Colorado Broadcasters Association, 2019 major-market radio awards; 2020 awards.

2003 — The Radio Power Book lists Bobby Irwin as Program Director of KKFM and Jim Coda as Music Director. KKFM is identified as Citadel’s “Classic Rock ’n Roll” heritage-rock station at 98.1.

Source: Billboard/Airplay Monitor Radio Power Book, 2003.

Walton Stations agreed to sell KKCS-FM 101.9 to Superior Broadcasting for $18 million in 2003. Radio & Records and Broadcasting & Cable identified the deal as Superior’s entry into the Colorado Springs market.

October 2003 — Dan Hardee began on-air at KTSC-FM / Rev 89 at Colorado State University–Pueblo, working the 3–6 a.m. shift.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

Nov. 16, 2003 — Chad Rufer began programming KKMG 98.9 Magic FM in Colorado Springs, arriving from Saga Communications in Clarksville, Tennessee. Contemporary trade reports said he replaced Scotty Valentine.

Sources: The Tattler, Oct. 24, 2003; Radio & Records, Oct. 31, 2003.

2004 — Dan Hardee became Production Director at KTSC-FM / Rev 89 at Colorado State University–Pueblo.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

By 2004 — Salem Communications’ Colorado Springs operation had moved from 6760 Corporate Drive, Suite 340 to 7150 Campus Drive, Suite 150.

The 2002–03 M Street Radio Directory lists KBIQ at 6760 Corporate Drive, while a 2004 federal foundation filing identifies KBIQ at 7150 Campus Drive. The evidence therefore places the move after the 2002–03 directory listing and by 2004; an exact move date has not yet been located.

Sources: M Street Radio Directory, 2002–03; The Premier Foundation 2004 federal filing.

KCCY-FM is licensed to Pueblo, and its studio history began there before its eventual integration into the Colorado Springs Clear Channel cluster.

1981–1986: Contemporary country-radio directories document KCCY at 3305 N. Elizabeth Street, Pueblo.

By 1993: The Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook lists KCCY at 106 W. 24th Street, Pueblo. The address remained part of the Pueblo radio operation after Clear Channel entered the market and later continued as a Clear Channel/iHeart Pueblo facility.

By 2002: Clear Channel sister stations KKLI and KVUU are independently documented at the company’s Colorado Springs facility at 2864 S. Circle Drive.

By 2004: Firsthand recollection from a KCCY intern confirms that KCCY’s actual on-air studio and microphone were at 2864 S. Circle Drive, Colorado Springs. Thus, later directory references to 106 W. 24th should not automatically be interpreted as the location of KCCY’s air studio.

Important distinction: 3185 Janitell Road was a Colorado Springs business/sales office, not KCCY’s broadcast studio.

Studio chronology: 3305 N. Elizabeth, Pueblo → 106 W. 24th, Pueblo → 2864 S. Circle Drive, Colorado Springs (on-air studio confirmed by 2004).

Sources: Billboard Country Radio Directory, 1981; Country Radio Directory, 1986; Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook, 1993; RBR Source Guide, 1990s; Radio Power Book, 2002; M Street Radio Directory, 2002–03; firsthand recollection regarding KCCY’s 2004 air studio and Janitell business office.

October 2004 — Clear Channel abandons the rock format on 96.1 KMOM and launches rhythmic KIBT/96.1 The Beat. The syndicated Bob & Tom Show, which had developed a Colorado Springs following on KMOM, is subsequently picked up by competing classic-rock station KKFM.

The move begins a long-running KKFM morning-show affiliation that continues decades later.

Sources: contemporary and retrospective KIBT station histories; Bob & Tom affiliate records.

October 2004 — Longtime KBPI/Denver Program Director Bob Richards is named Operations Manager of Clear Channel’s Colorado Springs cluster, overseeing KCCY, KIBT, KKLI and KVUU. He succeeds Don Schaffer.

Source: Radio & Records, Oct. 1, 2004.

July 2004 — Coba arrives in Southern Colorado from KZPS/Dallas to join KCCY mornings with Program Director Travis Daily, replacing Kathy O’Brien. The move begins a local career that later includes KVUU/My 99.9 and KDZA.

Source: Billboard Airplay Monitor, July 23, 2004.

Chrissy Adsit was documented in Colorado Springs radio management during the Clear Channel era. In 2004, Radio Ink listed Adsit among its Radio Wayne Award finalists for National Sales Manager, representing the Colorado Springs operation. Contemporary M Street listings also place her in station management at Clear Channel Colorado Springs.

In 2004, KJMN 92.1 changed from Radio Romántica to Entravision’s Spanish contemporary Super Estrella format.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

March–December 2004 — While working at KTSC-FM / Rev 89, Dan Hardee also interned with the Clear Channel Colorado Springs radio cluster.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

In April 2004, 105.5 FM serving Northern Colorado adopted the KJAC calls and the Jack FM variety-hits format. The station was among the earliest U.S. outlets to use the Jack branding and became a notable bridge between the Fort Collins and Denver radio markets.

Source: RadioInsight retrospective on KJAC, September 7, 2012.

KGNU began broadcasting its community-radio programming in Denver on 1390 AM at 9 a.m. on August 29, 2004 under an operating agreement while its purchase of KJME moved through the FCC process. Westword reported a $4.1 million purchase price plus $100,000 for the operating agreement.

The FCC record shows the KGNU call sign became effective August 27 and the license assignment to the Boulder Community Broadcast Association was granted November 19. The acquisition connected KGNU to the historic 1390 facility that had previously operated as KFML, KJJZ, KPPL, KMDK, KFTO, KDZR and KJME.

Sources: KGNU — official timeline; Westword — The Message, September 2, 2004; FCC historical CDBS assignment record; Democracy Now — KGNU Denver expansion announcement.

2005 — Wilde was already a Denver-market veteran when she joined KALC-FM (Alice 105.9) in 2005.

Related person: Jennifer Wilde. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Jennifer Wilde biography; Radio & Records, April 22, 2005; Radio Ink: Jennifer Wilde takes over the Charlie Tuna show; Radio Online: Jennifer Wilde steps down from The Wilde Ride.

2005 — Dan Hardee became Student Station Manager of KTSC-FM / Rev 89 at Colorado State University–Pueblo.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

In 2005, KQMT 99.5 The Mountain moved from its original Entercom-era studios at 10200 East Girard Street into the company’s Denver Tech Center facility, consolidating operations with its sister stations.

Source: KQMT station-history records.

A preserved KVUU website captured on February 17, 2005 documents another version of the station’s lineup. Craig Coffey and Alisha hosted mornings as Coffey and Alisha in the Morning; Cindy Spicer was identified as the station’s new midday personality; A.J. Carlisle remained on the roster; and Chris Austin hosted K-View After Dark. Compared with the December 2002 website roster, Coffey, A.J. Carlisle and Austin remained while Casey Page, Lara Scott and Sturge were no longer shown, and Alisha and Cindy Spicer had appeared.

By May 20, 2005, KVUU had dropped its long-running K-View identity and rebranded as My 99.9. Contemporary Radio & Records coverage described the station as Clear Channel Hot AC KVUU/My 99.9 under new Program Director JoJo Turnbeaugh. The refreshed format emphasized a broad mix of music from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and current titles.

As KVUU became My 99.9, former KBPI personality Darren McKee joined Craig Coffey in morning drive, replacing Alisha. Radio & Records documented the lineup change in May 2005.

In August 2005, Clear Channel named Chris Pickett Program Director of Hot AC KVUU/My 99.9 and Soft AC KKLI/K-Lite 106.3. Pickett arrived from KCLD/KCMJ in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Former KVUU PD JoJo Turnbeaugh moved to program sister country station KCCY while continuing his afternoon shift on My 99.9.

Beginning September 1, 2005, KVUU/My 99.9 morning host Craig Coffey broadcast from the balcony of Bourbon Street at RumBay in downtown Colorado Springs as the station raised money for Hurricane Katrina relief. Coffey remained on the balcony for more than eight days, lowering a bucket to collect listener donations and tossing Mardi Gras beads to contributors. My 99.9 set a fundraising goal of $99,999.

In fall 2005, Oldies 92.9 shifted toward classic hits, concentrating more heavily on music from the 1970s and 1980s while reducing most 1950s and early-1960s titles. The move set up the music base that would help form the new Peak format the following year.

As Superior prepared to sell the 101.9 facility to Bustos Media in late 2005, KKCS country programming began simulcasting on KSTY 104.5 in Cañon City. The simulcast provided a transition path for the KCS identity before 101.9 changed formats.

Bustos Media assumed control of the original KKCS-FM 101.9 facility on December 2, 2005 and replaced the country format with Regional Mexican La Gran D. KCS country programming remained on the former KSTY 104.5 facility.

After the KCS identity left 101.9, Bustos repositioned the former Colorado Springs facility toward Denver. The station’s community of license became Centennial and its transmitter operation shifted north toward Monument Hill/Castle Rock. As KGDQ La Gran D, the former KKCS 101.9 became a Denver-market station. The facility later became KKHI and then KXWA/WAY-FM.

On December 8, 2005, the KKCS-FM calls and KCS country identity moved to the Cañon City 104.5 facility. The original 101.9 facility became KGDQ and began its transition out of the Colorado Springs market.

On December 8, 2005, the 104.5 Cañon City facility took the KKCS-FM calls and the KCS country programming formerly heard on 101.9 in Colorado Springs. The arrangement lasted until 2007, when 104.5 returned to the KSTY calls and Star Country identity.

A preserved KVUU website captured on December 26, 2005 lists the station’s on-air lineup as Coffey in the Morning, Marco (Chris Pickett), Willie & JoJo, and Chris Austin. Pickett also served as KVUU’s Program Director. Willie & JoJo were Willie Fisher and JoJo Turnbeaugh. Compared with the February 2005 website snapshot, Craig Coffey and Chris Austin remained; Alisha Scott, Cindy Spicer and AJ were no longer shown, while Chris Pickett/Marco and the Willie & JoJo team appeared on the later roster.

2006 — In 2006, Etheridge left KBIQ-FM and moved to Austin, Texas, to join Clear Channel contemporary Christian station KPEZ 102.3 “The River.” He served as afternoon-drive host and music director until the station was sold to CRISTA Ministries in 2010.

Related person: Uncle Steve Etheridge. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Uncle Steve Etheridge biography; Paul Kavanaugh, The Gazette, July 23, 2011, “‘Uncle Steve’ Etheridge returns to Springs radio on the New Cat Country”.

April 1, 2006 — Bob Richards becomes Market Manager of Clear Channel/Colorado Springs, replacing retiring Bob Gourley. Later career biographies describe Richards as VP/Market Manager over eight stations between Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Source: Radio & Records, Mar. 17, 2006; Bob Richards career biography.

After KKCS moved from 101.9 to the Cañon City 104.5 facility, reception problems emerged on the north side of Colorado Springs. In January 2006, Air Force Academy station KAFA agreed to seek another frequency after KKCS reported interference from adjacent 104.3.

May 2006 — Dan Hardee left KTSC-FM / Rev 89 upon graduating from Colorado State University–Pueblo, ending a run that began on-air in October 2003 and included Production Director and Student Station Manager duties.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

July 2006 — Dan Hardee joined Clear Channel Pueblo as a Promotions Assistant. At the same time, he was also working mornings as a camera operator at KOAA-TV.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

August 2006 — Lazerman left KKMG-FM in August 2006 for a career outside radio.

Related person: Greg “Lazerman” Lazor. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Greg “Lazerman” Lazor biography.

During 2006, KKCS 104.5 eliminated its former local personality lineup. Contemporary Colorado Springs reporting documented former KCS staff moving to other stations and markets, including Cody Carlson to KCCY and morning team Sam and Craig Morrison to Fort Wayne. The station continued without the former local KCS staff before eventually going dark.

In August 2006, Craig Coffey left KVUU/My 99.9 and Coffey in the Morning after roughly seven years at the station, heading to Seattle. Clear Channel Colorado Springs GM Bob Richards praised Coffey as one of the market’s most popular voices and highlighted his community involvement. Coba and Darren McKee remained on the morning show while the station considered replacements.

Sept. 29, 2006 — Dan Hardee made his Colorado Springs commercial-radio on-air debut on KSPZ, hosting Saturday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight. He came from the promotions department at Clear Channel Pueblo and later moved into weekend-afternoon shifts.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

October 2006 — Chad Rufer resigned as Program Director of KKMG 98.9 Magic FM after three years leading the Citadel Top 40 station. He left Colorado Springs to become Program Director of WINK-FM in Fort Myers, Florida, beginning November 1.

The move closed a strong ratings-era chapter for Magic FM; trade coverage from the previous year had documented KKMG at No. 1 in the market under Rufer’s programming leadership.

Sources: The Tattler, Oct. 13, 2006; Radio & Records, 2005.

When 92.9 became Peak FM in October 2006, Radio & Records reported that the KSPZ air staff remained intact except for the night shift. Rich Brother Robbin departed and Coyote McCloud joined the new KKPK at night. McCloud later became one of Peak’s longest-running personalities and moved to afternoons.

When Citadel relaunched 92.9 as The New Peak FM in October 2006, Colorado Springs Operations Manager Bobby Irwin became Program Director of KKPK. Contemporary Radio & Records coverage documented Irwin as the programmer overseeing the transition from KSPZ Oldies 92.9 to Peak FM.

After Citadel converted 95.1 KRDO-FM from The Peak to Cat Country, it revived the Peak adult format on 92.9. On October 5, 2006, KSPZ became KKPK and launched The New Peak FM, blending classic hits with current and recent adult titles. The change was announced at 9:29 a.m. from the top of Pikes Peak.

2007 — Seller joined KKPK-FM in 2007 and was part of the station’s morning lineup for about a decade.

Related person: Aaron “Goose” Seller. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Aaron “Goose” Seller biography; Cumulus Media, April 5, 2022; KYGO morning-show announcement, August 2017; Michigan Association of Broadcasters, July 14, 2023.

By March 2007, Citadel Broadcasting’s Colorado Springs radio cluster was operating from 6805 Corporate Drive, Suite 130, Colorado Springs.

A contemporary industry employment notice identifies the address for Citadel Radio and specifically for KVOR programming operations. The cluster included KVOR and its sister stations, marking the Corporate Drive facility as the successor to the earlier Brookside-era operation.

By 2009, industry directories listed KVOR, KCSF and the other Citadel Colorado Springs stations at the same address. The facility remains the home of the Cumulus Colorado Springs cluster today, including KVOR, KKFM, KKMG and KKPK.

Sources: The Tattler, March 16, 2007; M Street/Radio directory, 2009–10; KVOR and Cumulus Southern Colorado station information.

In 2007, the 104.5 Cañon City facility returned to the KSTY call letters and Star Country identity after the short-lived KKCS-FM chapter ended.

By 2007, Chris Pickett had expanded beyond his KVUU/My 99.9 and KKLI/K-Lite programming duties to serve as Operations Manager for Clear Channel’s Colorado Springs operation. Contemporary industry material identifies him as Operations Manager of KVUU/KKLI; the 2008–2009 M Street Radio Book continued to list Pickett as KVUU Program Director.

The relocated KKCS country operation ended in 2007. The Cañon City 104.5 facility returned to the KSTY calls and Star Country identity, closing the final chapter of the KCS FM brand in Southern Colorado.

2008–09 — The M Street Radio Directory lists Jim Coda as Program Director of classic-rock KKFM 98.1. Mike Knar is General Manager, Kent Hildebrand Sales Manager and Ray Uberecken Chief Engineer. The directory’s Colorado Springs ratings snapshot lists KKFM with a 4.6 share and 2,600 AQH.

Source: M Street Radio Directory, 2008–09.

2008-2013 — Rameen Madani begins his Clear Channel/iHeart career in Colorado Springs, working with KVUU/My 99.9 and KIBT/96.1 The Beat. Later industry coverage identifies Madani’s local role as Digital Director, documenting the growing importance of web, streaming and digital programming within the Colorado Springs cluster.

Madani leaves Colorado Springs for Tucson in 2013 and later advances into major-market programming leadership in Phoenix.

Sources: RAMP industry biography; later iHeart industry coverage.

2008 — KVUU/My 99.9 is documented with Chris Pickett as Program Director and Darren McKee as Music Director. Rameen Madani begins his Clear Channel career in Colorado Springs working with KVUU and KIBT, launching a market tenure that continues into 2013.

Sources: Radio & Records 2008 station listings; later RAMP industry biography of Rameen Madani.

January 2008 — Dan Hardee took over 8 p.m.–midnight on KKPK 92.9 Peak FM and assumed the station’s Promotions Director role.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

In 2008, Wilks Broadcasting acquired Denver stations KXKL/KOOL 105, KIMN/Mix 100 and KWOF/92.5 The Wolf from CBS Radio, creating a three-station Denver cluster.

Source: KXKL station-history records and transaction reporting.

On Thursday, March 6, 2008, smooth-jazz KJCD 104.3 FM changed to sports and began carrying KKFN’s “The Fan” programming, initially simulcasting the AM station. The change moved the sports format onto the 104.3 signal; the station’s call sign later became KKFN-FM.

Related station records: KQKS-FM, which documents the earlier 104.3 frequency history, and KKFN-FM, the later 104.3 station record.

Sources: March 7, 2008 report on KJCD’s format change; contemporary DXM format-change report; Denver Sports history of The Fan.

August 2008 — Dan Hardee added Assistant Program Director duties for KVOR while working within the Citadel Colorado Springs cluster.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

October 2008 — Collins left KQKS-FM in October 2008 after a ten-year Denver run to become program director of rhythmic Top 40 KYLD (Wild 94.9) in San Francisco, his hometown.

Related person: Cat Collins. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Cat Collins biography; Deane Media Solutions: Cat Collins career profile; Westword: “Urban Renewal,” August 24, 2000; Westword: Collins leaves KS107.5, September 30, 2008.

April 2009 — Citadel hires veteran programmer Darrin Arriens as Music Director for both classic-rock KKFM and CHR/Top 40 KKMG. Arriens arrives from KHYT/Tucson and later career accounts identify him as Program Director of the two Colorado Springs stations.

Source: Radio & Records, Apr. 17, 2009; later industry career biographies.

In January 2009, KJMN 92.1 changed from Super Estrella to Entravision’s Spanish adult-hits José format.

Source: KJMN station-history records.

By March 2009, Woody Powers was established on 92.9 Peak FM. A Colorado Springs Gazette account of the annual radio-chef culinary competition identifies Peak’s team as Tammy Oakland, Joe Cicero and Woody Powers, documenting Powers at KKPK well before the later Goose & Woody ratings run.

2010 — Burrell joined KRXP-FM in 2010 and served as assistant program director and morning-show co-host through early 2014.

Related person: Steve Burrell. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Steve Burrell biography.

2010 — Hopkins joined KIBT-FM /96.1 The Beat in 2010 after roughly a decade working for Citadel’s Colorado Springs operation.

Related person: Cheeba Hopkins. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Cheeba Hopkins biography; Official CBA 2023 radio results; RAMP, iHeartMedia restructuring (2024); Colorado Broadcasters Association, 2020 major-market awards.

November 30, 2011 — Clear Channel rebrands KDZA-FM 107.9 as Z107.9 with a classic-rock format serving Southern Colorado. The KDZA-FM call letters themselves date to 1993; the station had most recently operated as Jet 107.9 and then a rock outlet before adopting the Z107.9 identity.

By 2012, Clear Channel Regional Market Manager Glynn Alan was publicly crediting Regional Programming Manager Paul Kelley and the station team for Z107.9’s early reception in Colorado Springs.

Sources: RadioInsight station-format chronology; Colorado Springs Gazette, May 5, 2012.

March 2011 — Clear Channel names Glynn Alan Market Manager for its Colorado Springs stations. Alan comes from KOSI/Denver, where he had been General Sales Manager, and previously worked in sports sales for Clear Channel Denver.

Source: Colorado Springs Gazette, March 7, 2011.

In January 2011, the Colorado Springs Gazette quoted Chris Pickett as Operations Manager for Clear Channel’s Colorado Springs radio stations while discussing the market’s fall Arbitron ratings, directly confirming that Pickett remained with the Colorado Springs cluster well beyond 2007.

April 2011 — Dan Hardee left Citadel and Colorado Springs for Denver to become Production Director for Wilks Broadcasting, working across KOOL 105, 92.5 The Wolf and Mix 100.

Source: First-hand career history supplied by Dan Hardee to the Colorado Radio Archive.

In 2011, Chris Pickett left Clear Channel Colorado Springs when the company transferred him to Tucson as Operations Manager of its seven-station cluster. Contemporary Tucson reporting explicitly states that Pickett had held the same Operations Manager position for Clear Channel’s Colorado Springs cluster before the move.

KKPK continued to strengthen in the Winter 2011 Colorado Springs Arbitron survey. Peak posted a 7.8 share among Adults 25–54, tying KVUU for first in the demographic, while its morning programming ranked second with Adults 25–54. Operations Manager Bobby Irwin highlighted Peak’s gains across the 18–34, 18–49 and 25–54 demos.

After five years away from the Colorado Springs market, Steve “Uncle Steve” Etheridge returned to local radio on July 25, 2011, as morning host at KATC 95.1 “Cat Country.” Road Gato served as producer and sidekick. Etheridge’s earlier local career included KKCS from 1992 to 1999 and KBIQ from 2000 to 2006.

Source: The Gazette, July 23, 2011.

KKPK became part of Cumulus Media when Cumulus completed its acquisition of Citadel Broadcasting on September 16, 2011. Peak joined Cumulus’s Colorado Springs cluster alongside KKFM, KKMG, KATC, KVOR and KCSF.

2012 — In 2012 he joined David Sirota on KHOW-AM for Sirota-Brown , an afternoon program pairing conservative and progressive viewpoints.

Related person: Michael Brown. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Michael Brown biography; Michael D. Brown career overview and references; Sirota-Brown launch, Yellow Scene.

KKPK posted one of its strongest documented ratings performances in the Spring 2012 Arbitron survey. Peak ranked first with Adults 25–54, tied for first among Adults 12+, and Goose & Woody ranked first in morning drive with Adults 25–54.

In September 2012, KJAC 105.5 ended its Jack FM format. After briefly stunting as classic-country Bob FM, the Timnath/Fort Collins signal moved to a simulcast of Denver sports station KDSP/ESPN 102.3.

Source: RadioInsight, September 7, 2012.

October 2012 — Radio Online reported in October 2012 that Howie Drummond exited Entercom’s Hot AC station Alice 105.9, KALC-FM.

Related person: Howie Drummond.

Sources: Howie Drummond biography; Radio Online — Howie Drummond exits Alice 105.9.

Nov. 27, 2012 — Former Triad KVOX/Fargo Program Director Mike Dylan joined Cumulus’ KATC 95.1 in Colorado Springs as Program Director and afternoon personality.

Source: Country Aircheck, Nov. 27/Dec. 3, 2012.

2013 — Hatfield joined KYGO-FM in 2013 for afternoons after a stint at KCYY in San Antonio.

Related person: Brian Hatfield. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Brian Hatfield biography; Country Aircheck, April 14, 2014; Media Confidential: Brian Hatfield named operations manager; Radio Ink: SuiteRadio country format.

2013 — Connell joined KOA-AM in Denver in 2013.

Related person: Mandy Connell. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Mandy Connell biography; KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM — Mandy Connell; Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado — Denver Radio history.

2013 — After leaving KHOW in 2013, Boyles joined Salem’s KNUS-AM 710, extending a Denver radio career that had already lasted several decades.

Related person: Peter Boyles. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Peter Boyles biography; Peter Boyles Show archive — June 20, 2026; Peter Boyles Show archive — June 13, 2026; Westword — Peter Boyles career interview.

2014 — Floorwax stepped away from KRFX-FM in 2014 and later disclosed that he had been dealing with severe clinical depression.

Related person: Michael Floorwax. This dated station move is recorded in the person’s archive biography.

Sources: Michael Floorwax biography; Westword — Floorwax’s absence from KRFX; Westword — 2014 departure from The Fox; Westword — 2023 career and recovery interview.