After some initial delays in getting up and running, Thunder 89.7 is live on the air. 

Ryan Greig, who created the station, said that the antenna placement at the local radio site caused a bit of a delay getting the station on the air. 

But there was a storm rolling in on Thursday evening when Greig was putting the final touches on the equipment at Cedar Mountain, which seemed appropriate for the launch of Thunder 89.7 in the Craig airspace. 

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“I love thunderstorms, we used to get them like crazy in the south,” said Greig, who is from Texas, lives in Arizona, and has his sights set on living in Colorado in the future which is why he chose to launch the station here in Craig. 

Greig has spent the past month coming up with a musical palette and has dubbed it Craig’s variety station. He wanted to fill the voids of a couple of different formats that aren’t on the air. 

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A lot of people Greig heard from wanted to hear more classic rock and that mixes well with a lot of other genres. KRYJ 89.7 will blend classic rock with lite rock and classic hits. Greig said that there isn’t an alternative station in Craig, so that will be covered too. 

The station will also have mainstream country from 2000 to 2015, which he said isn’t covered by the Steamboat country station. Greig is also mixing in some Texas Country, which he is excited about.

“We want to see what happens, and if we need to narrow down the focus, we can later,” Greig said. 

The station will run 24/7 so there will be plenty of hours to cover the variety. Greig said he likes doing live radio and engaging with listeners. 

On Friday nights starting at 6 p.m., Greig will host a classic country show and will take live requests for songs. Listeners can tune in for the call-in number and make their requests. 

Now that the station is live, there will be other chances to get involved with Thunder 89.7. Greig said they will be looking for volunteers who want to be on the radio or help do outreach for sponsorships. 

“We need sponsorships to survive,” Greig said, adding that small businesses are essential in Craig. 

Eventually, KRYJ wants to find a church to do a Sunday service on the air.

Greig has been busy testing the coverage of the station and said 89.7 is available to pick up all the way to Steamboat, with only a few fuzzy spots around Steamboat. He estimates the station signal will be stronger west and north of town. 

You can find the station on Facebook by searching KRYJ or Thunder 89.7, or send an email to kryj897@gmail.com.