A History of KDUR

Fort Lewis College students and Durango locals who are interested in radio, being a DJ or just sharing their eclectic musical tastes have a rare opportunity to do so right here on campus in the form of KDUR.  

 

"One of the things we pride ourselves on here is to play music that’s not heard on commercial radio," Bryant Liggett, Station Manager at KDUR, said. "So if you wanted to come in and play stuff from your obscure punk rock collection, or metal collection, or whatever, you can do it here."

 

The station broadcasts all across Southwest Colorado via 91.9FM and 93.9FM, and it is also possible to listen online according to the KDUR website.

 

According to said website, KDUR was founded in 1974 and became a public radio station in the early nineties.

 

"It’s kind of been like a niche radio station for people who are just kind of tired of commercial radio and bands that are overplayed on major radio stations,” Liggett said.

 

Within the studio, a special shelf called the play box is dedicated to new music sent over from record labels for free, said Douglas DuPont, vice president of the KDUR Board of Directors.  Dupont, a sophomore, also serves as the Student DJ Representative for the Board.   

 

DJs are encouraged to play a minimum of three songs an hour from the play box, Dupont said.

 

KDUR focuses on music that is not often played on commercial stations, so larger labels such as Warner Brothers are typically not included in the play box, he said.

 

However, DJs can put in a request with the music directors for a specific new track they believe will go over well, he said.

 

“The best advice I can give is that everyone takes practicum,” Dupont said.

 

Practicum, or English 251, is for FLC students who wish to take KDUR as a class, Liggett said.  Students may register for up to six credits.      

 

“In English 251 those students will do a show for like five or six weeks, so they have to play all new music," Liggett said.

 

DuPont said his best experience with KDUR was through practicum, when he created a thirty minute documentary on trap music.

 

“I was able to go to Denver with a field recorder I checked out from the station and interview Vince Staples, who’s a pretty renown rapper,” DuPont said. “Last year I wouldn’t have ever foreseen anything like that happening for a school project.”

 

Fifty to sixty DJs host a show each semester, in addition to the fifteen to twenty practicum students, Liggett said.  Both students and Durango locals are welcome to join.    

 

"I would say in the summer time it's about half and half, and in the school years it's probably seventy five percent student,” Liggett said. "This semester there's 56 slots to do radio shows, and so I think 40 of those this semester are students, and so 16 community members."

 

One of those community members is Jeff McGarvin.  His show Upbeat airs every Monday night from 8 - 10 p.m., McGarvin said.    

 

“I’ve held this time slot for probably seven or eight years,” McGarvin said.

 

Before hosting his own show, McGarvin worked as a fill in DJ, he said. He has been involved with the station in some way for 16 years.  

 

“We went from having a cubby hole up on the third floor before this whole thing was remodeled, to having the studio in a trailer for a few years, to having this gorgeous place here,” McGarvin said, “So that’s been a huge change.”

 

The expansive music library and improved technology within the studio has also had a significant impact, McGarvin said.

 

"We probably have one of the nicest radio stations in the community, and I would even say in the Southwest," says Liggett.

 

Liggett said before coming to Fort Lewis, he had been to Durango and was familiar with KDUR.

 

"I've always liked radio, and I've always liked this radio station prior to moving here,” Liggett said. “I'd been to Durango a couple times and enjoyed this radio station.  So that was it, I just liked it."

 

Many shows on KDUR's schedule have been running since the nineties, Liggett said.  Some of the longest running programs on the station include a bluegrass show, a Grateful Dead show, and a reggae show.  

 

"Saturday mornings nine to noon is one of our most popular programs and they play what I call like insurgent country music," Liggett said.  

 

KDUR is an RSO III,  said Mark Mastalski, director of the Leadership Center.  

 

The only other RSO III at Fort Lewis is the Environmental Center, Mastalski said.  

 

Registered student organizations are divided into RSO Is, RSO IIs, and RSO III, she said.  The different levels determine how an organization is funded.

 

"What makes an RSO III is that those two organizations have professional staff who are paid out of the budget of that organization,” Mastalski said. “So Bryant Liggett is the station manager of KDUR, he is on the KDUR payroll.  That is his job, period."

 

RSO IIs may also have staff but they are considered employees of the college and paid through FLC, Mastalski said.

 

Both RSO IIs and RSO IIIs receive a budget through student fees, he said.

 

At the Sept. 28  ASFLC meeting, all RSO IIs had their budgets cut by 8.89 percent.  The Environmental Center also faced an 8.89 percent budget cut, while KDUR’s budget was unaffected.     

 

RSO IIs include student organizations such as WellPAC, Club del Centro, ASFLC, Wanbli Ota, Village Aid Project, Student Union Productions, and The Independent, he said.

 

"The majority of our student groups fall under RSO Is” Mastalski said. “What this means is they do not receive a budget, they receive an initial allocation."

 

These initial allocations are in the amount of either $50 or $100, he said.

 

Unlike many RSOs, KDUR is funded through a variety of sources.  

 

According to KDUR’s most recent Financial Audit Report, less than one third of the station’s total operating revenue comes from student fees.  This means that fundraising, private grants, and underwriting from local businesses makes up the majority of the station’s revenue.     

 

However, KDUR is very different from a commercial station, said McGavin. Commercial radio stations, he said, often turn off listeners with repetitive music.  

 

“There's great stations like KDUR that play really good music that no one else plays, and it makes all the difference in the world,” McGavin said.     

 

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