KGNU (1390 AM) & KGNU-FM (88.5 FM) are a pair of

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...

stations licensed to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc.

History

KFML

1390 AM was first licensed on April 4, 1956 and held the call sign KFML.History Cards for KGNU
fcc.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2021. It aired a classical music format and was simulcast on 98.5 KFML-FM. It originally ran 1,000 watts during daytime hours only and was owned by Evert A. Bancker Jr. In 1961, the station was sold to the Fine Arts Broadcasting Company, along with its FM sister station, for $118,720. Its power was increased to 5,000 watts in 1964. In 1966, it was sold, along with its FM sister station, to O'Fallon–O'Connor Broadcasting Inc. for $165,000. In 1969, controlling interest was sold to Joseph R. McGoey for $96,250. In 1971, KFML adopted a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

format. In 1975, the station was sold to Radio Denver Corp. for $200,000.

Golden Bear Communications ownership

In 1982, the station was sold to Golden Bear Communications for $760,000. The station adopted a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

format, and its call sign was changed to KJJZ. In 1984, the station's call sign was changed to KPPL and it adopted an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1985. p. B-41, B-43. Retrieved January 10, 2021. On July 31, 1985, Golden Bear Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and on October 10, 1985, the proceeding was converted to Chapter 7.

KMDK

In 1987, the station was sold to Huttner Health Network for $265,000. Its call sign was changed to KMDK, and it began airing a health-talk format branded "K-Medic".Ross, Sean; Olson, Yvonne.
Vox Jox
, '' Billboard''. July 16, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

KDZR

On June 13, 1988 its call sign was changed to KFTO, and on June 23, 1988 its call sign was changed to KDZR.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2021. As KDZR, the station was initially an affiliate of

Z Rock Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, United States that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music for ...

, airing a heavy metal/ hard rock format. On November 14, 1988, it adopted a business talk format and became an affiliate of the Business Radio Network.Ross, Sean.
Vox Jox
, '' Billboard''. August 19, 1989. p. 12. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

KJME

In 1989, the station's call sign was changed to KJME and it began airing a

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...

format.
The Broadcasting Yearbook 1990
',

Broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...

, 1990. p. B-53. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcas ...

, 2003-2004. p. B-53. Retrieved January 10, 2021. In 1990, KJME was sold to Jo-Mor Communications for $350,000. In 1991, the station was fined $5,000 for operating at 450% in excess of its licensed power.

KGNU

KGNU-FM began broadcasting May 24, 1978. In 2004, Boulder Community Broadcast Association purchased AM 1390 KJME in Denver for $4.1 million, and its call sign was changed to KGNU. KGNU's programming follows a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

, featuring a mix of music, news and information. Local shows are hosted by

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

s. The station also carries syndicated programs distributed by Public Radio International, Pacifica Radio and BBC World Service. KGNU is a member of the

Grassroots Radio Coalition The Grassroots Radio Coalition is a coalition of community media activists. The GRC has a mailing list and holds a conference every year, but has so far not incorporated. There are no dues, no hierarchy and no bylaws. At the GRC11 in 2006, confe ...

, which it helped found in 1996. In 2018, the station's 40th anniversary was commemorated by a six-week exhibit, "Listening Together", at the Museum of Boulder. Beginning in 2019, the station embarked on a capital campaign to raise $1.25M, with an equal amount to be matched by the City of Boulder, as part of the voter-approved 2017 Community, Culture and Safety Tax.

Facilities

In the summer of 2010, KGNU-FM was granted permission to increase its FM transmitter power to 4,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s ERP. KGNU (AM) operates at 5,000 watts by day but must reduce power to 139 watts at night to protect other radio stations on 1390 kHz. The AM transmitter is in Englewood, Colorado off South Wyandott Street. The FM transmitter is in

Louisville, Colorado The City of Louisville () is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 21,226 at the 2020 United States Census. Louisville began as a mining community in 1877, experienced a ...

near the Louisville Reservoir, on a tower 213 feet (65 meters)

HAAT Haat or hat, even haat bazaar, is an open-air market that serves as a Trading post, trading venue for local people in rural areas and towns of Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Haat bazaars are conducted o ...

. KGNU also operates a 28-watt FM

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

K229AC at 93.7 MHz in

Nederland, Colorado Nederland (, ) is a statutory town located near Barker Meadow Reservoir in the foothills of southwest Boulder County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census it had a population of 1,445. History Nederland was established in ...

, and a 7-watt FM translator K254CH licensed to

Laporte, Colorado Laporte (originally spelled La Porte and alternatively spelled LaPorte) is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Fo ...

, which

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

s KGNU-FM on 98.7 MHz from Horsetooth Mountain west of

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

References

External links

Timeline: 40 years of making waves
{{Authority control

GNU GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...

Community radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1956