Fort Collins – May 5, 2022 Through a highly successful community fundraising campaign, Fort Collins radio station KRFC 88.9 FM has purchased and installed its own radio tower and will be launching a powerful new 50kW radio signal that will reach a geographic area with nearly 1 million Front Range residents. The expansion more than doubles the stations’ broadcast footprint to include new communities as far south as North Denver and further east of Greeley, Colorado. Public and private donations helped finance the nearly $400,000 costs of erecting the new tower and 50kW signal which will replace the station’s current 3kW signal.
KRFC 88.9 FM Radio From Colorado, For Colorado and The World, has long been known for its deep pool of all-volunteer, on-air talent and for cultivating Colorado’s local music scene and musicians. By reaching new audiences in new markets, KRFC aims to broaden its listenership and expand its services and impact to help connect Colorado listeners with the music, artists and information they care about most. It is rare for an independent station to own and operate its own broadcast tower of this size, a development that will allow KRFC 88.9 FM to lease bandwidth to other regional broadcasters and commercial organizations needing a tower for their signal.
‘We are beyond excited and eternally grateful to the many donors who stepped up and helped make this long-standing dream a reality,” says KRFC Executive Director, Jen Parker. “It is extremely rare to have this level of public interest and support for community radio, and it speaks to northern Colorado’s love of live and local music and regional community affairs as well as the many deep connections we have forged across our communities over the last 19 years.”
Those donors include Paul and Amy Hach of the Paul and Amy Hach Charitable Foundation who gifted the lead donation in launching the campaign.
“It has been our pleasure to support KRFC’s growth over the years as a force for music, connection, and collaboration in the region,” say the philanthropists. “Powering the new tower and 50kW signal has been a dream for more than 25 years and now that it’s a reality, we are honored to be a part of making this happen.”
The station will officially “flip the switch” over to its new signal on May 12th at 1 pm, at which time KRFC 88.9 FM will reach from the Wyoming border down through Wellington, Fort Collins, Windsor, Ault, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, Estes Park, and down to north Denver and a good part of Boulder county. Launch and rollout activities include digital signage along the I-25 corridor, a ribbon-cutting ceremony with key partners and community leaders, and a celebration concert at New Belgium Brewing on May the 21st, 2022 at 4 pm with Sweet Virginia and A.J. Fullerton performing. Included in the festivities are food trucks, an auction, and beer. It will be a free party for all the family and community to enjoy. KRFC 88.9 FM has been a proud community radio station since its inception in 2003. Their mission to entertain, inform and inspire through live and local independent programming has only accelerated over the last few years.
“Community radio is a critical resource in so many ways,” say Colorado recording artists Cary Morin and Celeste Di lorio. “KRFC 88.9 FM plays an invaluable role for us as artists, promoting and supporting the music and performances we create and bringing them to our musical community. This, in turn, helps us to grow our engagement and contribute to our overall success. With their new tower and increased signal, KRFC will be able to increase its reach and benefit to artists and community members manyfold, reaching larger audiences in Northern Colorado and around the globe via their streaming!”
KRFC 88.9 FM’s programming is entirely volunteer-powered with more than 180 volunteers, 64 of whom are currently on-air. Their tireless dedication to Colorado music is evident through programming like the weekly LIVE@LUNCH sessions, daily local artist features, and countless concerts and live streaming events throughout the year. The station also serves as a community hub helping to highlight small businesses, not-for-profits, and musicians while connecting listeners with critical resources like their recent Healthy Aging Resources Initiative which provides tips, links and support for communities across the Front Range.
“Our long-standing mission has been to provide listeners with an authentic Colorado experience,” says Parker. “That includes not only great local, national and global music but also community news and informed opinion. We also serve a variety of community organizations by providing a platform for them to expand awareness about their vital resources for the region. We are ecstatic that our new tower and expanded signal will bring that powerful mix to so many more Colorado community members. It is a great moment in our history, building upon an incredible foundation of volunteerism and service.”
“Our long-standing mission has been to provide listeners with an authentic Colorado experience,” says Parker. “That includes not only great local, national and global music but also community news and informed opinion. We also serve a variety of community organizations by providing a platform for them to expand awareness about their vital resources for the region. We are ecstatic that our new tower and expanded signal will bring that powerful mix to so many more Colorado community members. It is a great moment in our history, building upon an incredible foundation of volunteerism and service.”
ABOUT KRFC 88.9
KRFC 88.9 FM Radio Fort Collins is a community-based, not-for-profit radio station located in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The programming is composed of a diverse group of volunteer DJs, whose genres are as distinctive as they are. As a volunteer-powered, noncommercial radio station our mission is to provide listeners everywhere with a distinctive radio listening experience. Through volunteer time and talent we offer you listening treasure. You can find KRFC on your FM dial in northern Colorado, online at www.krfcfm.org and on our phone App in the App Store ‘KRFC 88.9FM Radio’