NEW RADIO BUZZ IN COLORADO SPRINGS: “K-HIGH MARIJUANA RADIO”

A friend who lives in Colorado Springs sent me a link to this story in the Colorado Springs Gazette: Springs Station Switches Format from Sports to Marijuana. I thought it was a headline from The Onion.  But no, this is really happening. Click here for the K-HIGH website.

On April 13, KREL AM 1580 became K-HIGH – news and talk coverage of Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. Some of the programs heard on K-HIGH are Wake & Bake (morning drive), High Noon (middays) and High Drive in the afternoon. Topics include the latest pot news from Colorado’s marijuana enforcement bureau, new products, medical marijuana and user reviews of new strains of 420, oils and edibles.

WHY COLORADO SPRINGS?

I lived in The Springs (as locals call it) in the mid and late 1980s.  I was working for Transtar Radio Network and volunteering at NPR station KRCC, a gutsy little noncom based at Colorado College.

Colorado Springs is a perfect place to try a station like K-HIGH for two reasons:

1. THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY STATIONS SERVING THE SPRINGS

According to Radio-Locator there are 49 FM and 39 AM stations with competitive signals serving a market of half a million people.  Because it is in the open spaces of the Rocky Mountain West, there has been ample spectrum available for new AM and FM stations over the years. More recently there have been a couple dozen signal move-ins. Transmitter sites in the foothills make even a 10-watt translator competitive.

Every commercial and noncommercial radio format is taken in The Springs. This leaves few choices for small players. So, enter something totally new: K-HIGH. 

K-HIGH DAYTIME COVERAGE MAP

2. DESPITE ITS REPUTATION AS A RIGHT-WING GOD-SQUAD HAVEN, THE SPRINGS IS A WIDE OPEN ROCK N ROLL TOWN

The Springs reminds me of the Russian philosopher Rasputin: In order to repent, you first have to sin – frequently. I’ve never lived anywhere where people party harder than in Colorado Springs.

When I lived there, I sometimes hung out with folks from KILO-FM, one of the most influential AOR stations in America. The call letters came from a slang term for a “brick” of marijuana.  So the love of High Times runs deep in Colorado. Maybe this is a perfect place for K-HIGH.

I have one question though: Doesn’t the FCC require a drug free workplace?  Maybe there is a waiver for The Springs.