Background Statement
KRZA Community Radio signed on the air officially in October of 1985. Getting to that point was a 10-year odyssey, and a tribute to the determination of the community. Originally conceived in the mid-70's, KRZA was the brainchild of a collective of women in the San Luis Valley who felt the need for an outlet that would serve the area's Hispanic community. It took ten years to get the funding, licensing, and know-how necessary to bring KRZA to the air-waves. With help from the Colorado Migrant Council, who donated the use of the second floor of the building on 9th Street and State Ave. KRZA signed on the 27th of October, 1985. We remained on the air for nearly two hours before there were technical difficulties with the transmitter. By the end of November, things were up and running - and twenty plus years of community radio had begun.
That's how KRZA started. Since then, we've adjusted the original mix of Spanish/English programming to add NPR, Pacifica, Native Voice 1, Radio Bilingue, and other regionally relevant programs. We installed a new transmitter in 2002, and two translators in 2005, so that we can now reach the west end of the San Luis Valley.