KFFR/KWTR: A Community Radio Station – If You Can Keep It

by Denis Moynihan, a goodbye letter from our Founder and long-term Board Member.

“A lady asked Dr. Franklin Well Doctor what have a we got a republic or a monarchy —  A republic replied the Doctor if you can keep it.”

This sentence is reproduced here as written by a founding father of the United States, Irish-born James McHenry, in his diary. It recounts an exchange in September, 1787, between Benjamin Franklin and the prominent Philadelphian Elizabeth Willing Powel, as Franklin emerged one day from the Constitutional Convention then underway. Whether or not apocryphal, the words resonate to this day, as our representative democracy faces unprecedented threats, but also, personally, as I leave the Fraser Valley Community Media (FVCM) board of directors after founding the organization over18 years ago and launching KFFR community radio.

With KFFR 88.3 FM and the newly-launched KWTR 89.1 FM, Grand County now has a community radio station — if you can keep it.

In 2007, I was living in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen, working (as I still do) for the non-profit news program, Democracy Now! I joined an ad hoc national working group established to recruit non-profit groups to apply for an FM broadcast license. The FCC had announced an application window, the first in a quarter-century, considered a once-in-a-generation opportunity to launch a new, full-power noncommercial radio station. We recruited hundreds of groups nationally, from Spokane, Washington to Flint, Michigan to Silver City, New Mexico and beyond. While I was a New Yorker, some of my misspent youth involved ski bumming in Colorado and a summer building a house in the Fraser Valley. I knew that Grand County would benefit from its own community radio station, but couldn’t find a local non-profit that would be a good fit. I decided then to take on the task myself, and formed Fraser Valley Community Media, Inc (FVCM), a non-profit, to ensure that Grand County was in the running for a station. A colleague, Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, generously donated the initial $7,000 to cover the legal and engineering work to file the application.

In 2008 I moved to Colorado to be with the woman I would eventually marry (at Granby Ranch’s beautiful wedding site overlooking the Fraser). The FCC’s process for granting licenses is notoriously complex, but, by 2009, FVCM prevailed in the competitive process, beating out, among others, a Spanish-language Evangelical Christian church housed in a Dallas McMansion. We were deep in the Great Recession, so launching the station was an uphill battle. In 2011, the Obama administration zeroed out a key program, the Commerce Department’s Public Telecommunications Facilities Program, or PTFP, which had for decades provided critical funds to noncommercial broadcasters. As a new station, we stood to receive over $100,000 to acquire equipment to get on the air. With no PTFP funds forthcoming, I began raising funds through occasional events and direct solicitations to friends and family. All the funds brought in during those early years were from outside Grand County.

A looming FCC deadline to be on the air by 2015 approached, so, with the help of some community radio allies from the West Coast, I raced through a final design process for a transmitter and antenna. I received assent from my brother, who owns a house in the hills above Tabernash, to set up a temporary tower. In my rush to meet the federal government’s deadline or lose our FM license, I was forced to postpone seeking a county permit. With the help of a legendary community radio engineer and former Philadelphia pirate radio activist named Pete Tridish, and with the boundless enthusiasm of local volunteer Anna Szczepanski, we met the deadline. The county eventually learned of the 90’ tower and politely instructed me to remove it until proper permits were in place. We filed with the FCC for a period of temporary silence, then embarked on what would be a costly, multiyear battle with neighboring second home owners who attempted to block the permitting of our modest tower. In the end, with an incredible outpouring of local support, the Special Use Permit was granted, overcoming the sad display of NIMBYism inherent in the abutters’ baseless complaints about the tower.

With the tower and technology in place, we began the mission-driven work of actually building the station: the community of people, staff volunteers, stakeholders, advocates and supporters who ultimately make community media what it is, who breathe life into the airwaves.

There are too many to mention who deserve my profound thanks for uplifting this project, so offer apologies in advance for leaving some out.

Craig Clark rescued the Fraser Valley Center from the ravages of the recession, sinking capital and care into the property when it looked like a set location for Breaking Bad. I had heard from the late Eileen Waldow, an early and tireless champion of the station who we lost this year, that Craig was looking for non-profits to fill some of the 2nd-floor spaces in the shopping center. We began hopscotching around the center, moving from vacant space to vacant space as Craig recruited tenants to what has become known as the Murdoch’s Center. We ultimately landed where we are now, on the 2nd floor, “between Murdoch’s and the pot shop.” Our space, when we got access, was a hollow shell with piles of personal property stored or abandoned by tenants. Craig Clark extended a five year, rent-free lease to us. Years later, Craig and his company Homeland still only charge FVCM a discounted rent.

With help from Denver-based, non-profit social justice architecture firm Radian, we designed a complete commercial renovation of the 1,800-square-foot space to transform it to a purpose-built, state-of-the-art media facility to serve the community for years to come.

Andy Miller, owner of M3 Property Services, who also owns the High Lonesome Hut and spearheaded the construction of the Broome Hut on Berthoud Pass, volunteered his time as general contractor to see that KFFR studios were built in a timely and cost-efficient manner, with a focus on local suppliers and labor. Fraser resident Sam Brewer arrived, bringing his remarkable talents as an electrical engineer to the station right when we needed his expertise. He helped design and build the studio infrastructure, working long hours with schematics, solder and sweat, without pay or complaint.

Steve Skinner, along with his heroic and now greatly missed dog Chooch, relocated from the Roaring Fork Valley, contributing his decades of experience in both commercial and non-commercial radio, recruiting and training DJs, putting in place essential policies and practices, and imparting his sharp wit and creative energies to the project. One of the county’s fiercest advocates who I deeply respect and admire, Maria Chavez of the Winter Park/Fraser Chamber, embraced the radio station early on and promptly recruited a friend who has been central to the success of the project, Joanna Goodman. Joanna, who has been working behind the scenes, on-air and on the board of directors for years, is a talented and committed community advocate. Early on she understood the role that radio, music, culture and cooperation can play in weaving a civic fabric both vibrant and resilient.

There are people in the community who have stood up, contributed critically, and sought no recognition nor favors in return. Among them, Dan Lubar, who offered internet and networking expertise early on. When our signal needed to bend around the topographic obstruction of Meadow Ridge to reach our distant tower, Megan Luther and Parnell Quinn hosted a relay point on the porch of their Fraser home, donating space and electricity for years.  When our needs expanded, Kaydee Fisher didn’t hesitate to offer space on the roof of Fisher’s Bar and electricity for a larger relay. Now, we have two transmitters, each better placed and more energy efficient than the first, with hosting provided by Winter Park Resort and Ski Granby Ranch. Mountain Parks Electric has also extended significant help as we try to push the radio signal farther west to reach all of Grand County.

The physical studio space has been continuously improved upon, mostly with volunteer labor. Steve and Jake Mikol donated materials and labor to install our studio’s rubber floor. A group of talented carpenters known as the Three Doorman provide finish carpentry and further space improvements, making the studio both functional and funky.

John Pendergast, one of the Doormen, worked for a well-known water dispensing manufacturer, and thus was instrumental in completing the installation of our chilled water dispenser. This is a vital amenity in any High Country public space, but personal to me for another reason.

Kristin Nicoletti was one of our early volunteer DJs, who hosted a show she called “Faceplant into Friday.” She brought joy and positivity to the airwaves, eclectic music, and volunteered throughout the station, with maintenance, events, and more. She was the type of enthusiastic volunteer who makes community radio possible. Kristin was killed by her domestic partner on Thanksgiving Day, 2020. He then took his own life. The tragic loss of Kristin’s life was felt throughout the community, and especially deeply at KFFR. Kristin, a health practitioner, ended her weekly shows saying, “Stay hydrated!” Please stop into KFFR any time to fill your water bottle, and stay hydrated, in Kristin’s memory.

The other woman who I must mention never set foot in Grand County and never heard KFFR. Irma Giustino Weiss was born in 1919 to Italian immigrant parents, and lived a full life as a proud New Yorker. She was a loyal listener to Democracy Now!, and I befriended her after her repeated requests for mailed transcripts of the broadcast. In addition to an award-winning career as an art director during the golden age of magazines, working for Condé Nast, she was an engaged philanthropist, supporting independent media, human rights and the arts. Irma made several substantial donations to help FVCM get on its feet, when, in 2015, at the age of 96, she experienced several TIAs, or “mini strokes.” Not wanting to suffer from a major stroke, as some of her friends had, and always a woman of action, Irma ended her life on her own terms. She left a bequest to FVCM of $250,000, which arrived just as we were embarking on a campaign to fund the studio construction and complete the tower. Irma Giustino Weiss is truly one of the unsung heroes of KFFR.

The station is now in the capable hands of a dedicated staff: Executive Director Ryan Wilson, Content Producer Rachel Williams, Underwriting & Marketing Director Anastasia Button,  Assistant Studio Manager Carly Maurer, and our Events Manager, the aforementioned Joanna Goodman. Steve Peters volunteers as our eminently qualified general counsel. The non-profit is governed by an engaged and growing board of directors: Treasurer Lisa Pendergast, Lauren Panasewicz, Nanda Usseglio, Jack Van Horn, Jessica Stern, Morgan Colin, Tom Blackwood, and Steve Fitzgerld – new officer positions will be elected in January 2026. 

This collective of staff and board volunteers keep the lights on, the organization legally compliant, and the doors and studios open for the remarkable and varied group of volunteer DJs who are the heart of the station.

It will be supportive community members who sustain KFFR/KWTR. Federal funds have been zeroed out, just as we became large enough to qualify for CPB grants. The station is growing, serving more people, filling more critical information and cultural needs of the community, and has much more to offer.

It has been a true privilege to work on the project, and to have met so many incredible people along the way.

Grand County, you now have a community radio station — if you can keep it.