KAFM 88.1

A volunteer-oriented community radio station operating at 88.1 FM, licensed in Grand Junction, Colorado. The station is owned and operated by the Grand Valley Public Radio Company (GVPRC), which incorporated on 22 June 1992. Its founding board of directors included Mickey Krakowski, Martin Krakowski, Marilyn Jones, Greg Jouflas, Char Shoffner, Elizabeth Thompson, and Peter Trosclair. The FCC granted GVPRC a license for 88.1 MHz at 16 watts and assigned the call letters KAFM on 12 April 1994. In mid-1995, the station applied to increase power and swap to 100.7 MHz, but the FCC denied that request in January 1996 and opened 100.7 for general applications. Thirteen entities subsequently applied for the 100.7 license, including Colorado Public Radio and most Grand Junction commercial broadcasters, prompting the FCC to freeze the process. After failed frequency-swap negotiations with neighboring station KCIC in 1997 and 1998, the competing 100.7 applicants agreed to conduct a private auction rather than allow the FCC to sell the frequency. The auction concluded at $440,000, with KAFM receiving approximately $40,000 as one of eleven losing bidders. The station began broadcasting at 16 watts in mid-1998. Revenue comes significantly from member support, consistent with most public radio stations. The station has an elected Board of Directors and holds annual membership voting. Governance is community-driven, with board applications accepted and voted upon by members each spring.