GREELEY — Community Radio for Northern Colorado, the parent organization of KUNC-FM 91.5 and KJAC-FM 105.5 “The Colorado Sound,” has cut the radio station’s staff by more than a fourth in response to funding cuts tied to the demise of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Half of the 10 layoffs from a staff of 38 have come in KUNC’s news and programming departments, said Tammy Terwelp, president and CEO of CRNC.
“Like many media organizations, especially nonprofit, we are navigating an increasingly challenging funding environment,” Terwelp said in a prepared statement on the stations’ website. “This was a very difficult decision, and I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all our employees for their dedication and commitment to our mission. Every member of our team, past and present, has contributed to the strength of KUNC and The Colorado Sound.”
In an interview broadcast on KUNC, Terwelp said the stations received about $453,000 a year from the 58-year-old Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which announced in August that it would take steps toward its own closure after Congress clawed back more than $1 billion of its funding. President Donald Trump repeatedly has targeted public media, claiming that it spreads political and cultural views opposed to American values.
KUNC’s annual budget is around $5.75 million, Terwelp said, revenue that mostly comes from pledge drives and grants.
“Being a nonprofit, we are very lean,” she said. “There are no extra positions.”
Even so, KUNC has won national Edward R. Murrow journalism awards and was named Station of the Year in 2024 by the Colorado Broadcasters Association. Included in KUNC’s news and information programming is a segment on business news featuring BizWest publisher Christopher Wood, which airs Monday afternoons during National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
Terwelp said CPB not only has provided funding to the stations but also has acted as an agent to negotiate rights for the music it plays with recording labels.
“Expenses are growing exponentially. To try to keep up with that cost year over year is nearly impossible,” Terwelp said in the interview, noting that a lot must be spent to maintain the stations’ “more than 20 transmitters and translators in mountain communities.”
She said similar cuts would have to occur “at every size organization, whether you have 10 or 300 people.”
KUNC began broadcasting as KCBL on Jan. 6, 1967 at the University of Northern Colorado, and changed its call letters to KUNC on May 1, 1970. UNC put the station up for sale in 2000, and Denver-based Colorado Public Radio, whose flagship stations are National Public Radio affiliate KCFR-FM 90.1 and classical-music KVOD-FM 88.1, agreed to buy it. However, a drive by station staffers and community members in Northern Colorado aimed at “keeping community radio local” led to a fundraising drive that resulted in a counteroffer from the newly formed CRNC.
To survive now, Terwelp said in the broadcast interview, “what this will take is an absolute reinvention of public media, shedding some of our own shackles” and “being more collaborative and quicker moving.” She said that means even more of a focus on partnerships with donors, grantors and underwriters.
“Our listeners and donors are the reason we exist,” she said in a prepared statement. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported us over the years, especially those who contributed during our recent summer pledge drive. Your generosity sustains our service and strengthens our resolve to keep public media thriving in Northern Colorado.”
This article was first published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2025 BizWest Media LLC.
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