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KSUT broadcasting new signal from Ute Mountain

After three years of work, KSUT has connected the two sisters tribes of Southwest Colorado through Tribal Radio, with a new FM signal broadcasting off Hermano Peak on Ute Mountain.

The signal went live May 14 at 100.9-FM. KSUT would like to sincerely thank the Ute Mountain Ute tribe for their cooperation and support in allowing KSUT Tribal Radio to broadcast from Ute Mountain.

In June 2017, KSUT submitted a proposal to the owner of donated FM licenses intended for non-commercial radio stations serving Native American populations and was selected to receive two licenses.

KSUT conducted engineering studies to assess what frequencies would be available from Ute Mountain that would not interfere with any other signals. Significant applications to the Federal Communications Commission were approved, including permission to temporarily continuing to broadcast at the existing site for the license in Reserve, N.M., while the new broadcast site was getting set up on Ute Mountain, as well as receipt of a construction permit to move the license to Towaoc in 2019.

After 17 separate trips to Ute Mountain with KSUT staff, engineers and tower climbers, and a near-miss of going live in December 2019 because of snow, KSUT Tribal Radio can now be heard from 100.9-FM in Towaoc, Cortez, White Mesa, Dolores and many points in between.

Rob Rawls, KSUT Four Corners station manager, was instrumental in the fulfillment of this project.

KSUT Tribal Radio can be heard on 91.3-FM serving Ignacio, Southern Ute and Jicarilla Apache tribal lands, 89.7-FM serving Farmington, northwest New Mexico and Navajo tribal lands and now 100.9-FM serving Cortez, Dolores, Towaoc, White Mesa and Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands.