Get ready to tune in because a new radio station is coming to Craig, and the creator says it’s being designed specifically for the community. 

The new station, KRYJ, will be coming in at 89.7 FM as early as Saturday, July 30. Ryan Greig, the creator of the station, said he won’t reveal its format until the station goes live this weekend, so listeners will have to tune in to find out what the new station is all about.

Greig said he received the license to build the station five days before Christmas but had to wait until the snow and ice melted to install the necessary equipment on the radio tower. 

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Before weather would allow the equipment to be installed, Greig set out to get feedback from the community about what kind of radio station Craig wants. 

“We wanted to get input from the community about what music the community would like,” Greig said. “When I visited Craig, I realized there were some gaps for stations that Steamboat has, but they don’t come to Craig.”

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Community members may have seen the Facebook post asking for people’s listening preferences. According to the feedback, Greig said, the community wants less repetition and a good variety, so that is what he plans on offering.

“I’ve got lots of hours ahead of me to put music together,” Greig said. 

KRYJ is one of three Colorado stations that Greig is in the process of building. The other two are in Buena Vista and near Fairplay. Each of the stations is unique to the community it serves. 

Greig, who has been in the radio industry for about 10 years, currently lives in the Phoenix area and has a low-power FM station, which is limited in its range, there. 

“With a little signal like ours in a city the size of Phoenix, it’s very hard to do anything with it,” Greig said. 

A filing opened up with the Federal Communication Commission for the three Colorado locations, so Greig got started working on them. 

“I found the three areas based on tower availability,” Greig said. “The towers are in good spots, and they serve what we want to do — small-town radio. 

Greig said that eventually, he wants to move to Colorado, but in the meantime, he will run things from Phoenix with the help of volunteers in Moffat County to give the station a local presence.  

Putting together a community radio station is a group effort, Greig said. The organization that will be running KRYJ and the other two Colorado stations, is a nonprofit that is volunteer-led. 

The purpose of the nonprofit organization is to provide radio stations to communities like Moffat County. KRYJ will be primarily serving up music, but Greig said the goal is to get local content on the station. 

KRYJ will be on the air 24/7, seven days a week. Greig is inviting anyone who wants to be a part of the station to reach out. 

There will be opportunities to be on the radio as a local voice for the station and through DJing, as well as opportunities to help provide underwriting announcements for sponsorships and donations to the station. 

For more about KRYJ or to get involved as a volunteer, email KRYJ897@gmail.com.