Rocky Mountain Community Radio (RMCR) began as the High Country Community Radio Coalition (HCCRC) in the 1980s, with founding member stations KDUR, KGNU, KOTO, KSUT, and KVNF.

Early News Collaboration

The first formal HCCRC news collaboration was Thin Air, a 30-minute monthly news magazine created by KOTO News Director Jon Kovash and reporter Eric Whitney. The show featured news and feature stories from reporters at HCCRC stations. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the program was initially distributed via cassette tapes and later compact discs.

Capitol Coverage Project

In 2001, the coalition launched the Capitol Coverage Project, providing daily news and feature reports during the annual sessions of the Colorado General Assembly. Initial funding came from station contributions and support from the Bohemian Foundation, the Rose Community Foundation, and the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Colorado.

Initial participating stations: KGNU, KOTO, KVNF, KRFC, KRZA, KAFM, KBUT, KDNK, KAJX, KDUR.

In 2006, KRCC joined HCCRC, bringing in significant funds that allowed the coalition to hire a full-time reporter at the State Capitol.

Capitol Coverage Reporters:

• 2001-2004: Sam Fuqua
• 2005: David Wilson
• 2006: Daniel Costello
• 2006-2018: Bente Birkeland
• 2018-2022: Scott Franz
• 2022-present: Lucas Brady Woods (reporter): lucas.woods@kunc.org
• 2024-present: Chas Sisk (managing editor): chas.sisk@kunc.org

In late 2024, the Capitol News Alliance launched as a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun. Content is shared with RMCR stations for local distribution, along with other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Other reporting collaborations

In 2021, RMCR embarked on a new effort to collaborate around a shared topic of interest and produced series exploring Fossil Fuels and Affordable Housing.

In 2022, we collaboratively produced a series of reports around Communities Transitioning from Fossil Fuels. Participating stations broadcast each series in its entirety for local listening audiences.

Reporting Expansion

In July 2022, RMCR hired Maeve Conran as the coalition’s first managing editor and producer, a position created with funding from the Colorado Media Project to strengthen local news efforts and promote inclusivity in Colorado’s news ecosystem.

In November 2024, we collaboratively hired Caroline Llanes as the network’s first rural climate reporter. Llanes focuses on telling the stories of rural communities and examining how climate change impacts the people, environments, and economies of the Rocky Mountain West. Content is shared with RMCR stations for local distribution, and the effort is funded by Rural Climate Partnership.