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RMCR member stations won a combined 28 CBA awards across all markets, with KUNC winning eight (5 first place, 3 certificates of merit), KVNF winning a total of 7 awards (2 first place, 5 certificates of merit), KOTO winning a total of three awards (2 first place, 1 certificate of merit), Aspen Public Radio winning three awards (1 first place, 2 certificates of merit), KUVO winning three awards (1 first place, 2 certificates of merit), KSUT Tribal Radio winning two (2 certificates of merit), KSUT winning one award (1 first place), and KDNK winning one award (1 first place).
In the SPJ Top of the Rockies competition, member stations of RMCR won a combined 25 awards, with KHOL in Jackson, WY, winning six (6), KUNC winning five (5), and KGNU in Boulder/Denver winning five (5), KVNF winning four (4), Aspen Public Radio winning three (3), and KBUT winning two (2).
In addition, several student reporters within the RMCR network were recognized for their work by the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards—recognizing the best in student reporting.
KVCU reporters at the University of Colorado Boulder earned awards in Best Radio News Reporting and Best Radio In-Depth Reporting, and were also recognized in categories including Best Affiliated Website, Photo Essay/Slideshow, Sports Photography, Podcast (Conversational), and Radio Feature.
Two KGNU student interns and volunteers from the University of Colorado Boulder were also recognized in the Radio Feature category.
“To see our stations’ work recognized underscores the important role our news coverage plays in communities across the region,” says RMCR Managing Editor Maeve Conran. “I’m especially excited to see our student reporters recognized as they represent the next generation of journalists, and RMCR is proud to support their growth.”
The collaborative model that began with a handful of Colorado stations in the 1980s as High Country Community Radio Coalition (HCCRC) has grown over the past thirty years to include more than twenty stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico.
In addition to the managing editor position, RMCR has a part-time digital editor, a grant writer, employs Public Media Company bookkeepers, and in 2024, hired its first full-time rural climate reporter. The network is also part of the new Colorado Capitol News Alliance (CCNA), a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with stories shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio stations and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The stations of Rocky Mountain Community Radio include:
KAFM – Grand Junction
KAJX – Aspen
KBUT – Crested Butte and Gunnison
KDNK – Carbondale
KDUR – Durango
KFFR – Winter Park
KGNU – Boulder and Denver
KHEN – Salida
KHOL – Jackson Hole, WY
KLZR – Westcliffe
KOTO – Telluride
KRCL – Salt Lake City, UT
KRFC – Fort Collins
KSJD – Cortez
KSJE – Farmington, NM
KSUT – Ignacio
KUNC – Greeley
KUVO – Denver
KVCU – Boulder
KVNF – Paonia and Montrose
KZMU – Moab, UT
Rocky Mountain Community Radio 