Next Friday, July 18, from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. KOTO kicks of summer fundraising by hosting \u201cGolden Years\u201d Guest DJ Day celebrating five decades of commercial-free, non-underwritten community radio that \u201cinforms, educates, and entertains\u201d listeners from Ophir to Norwood and from Telluride to Ridgway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KOTO Executive Director Cara Pallone explains that this spring the Trump Administration sent a rescission request to Congress proposing to take back $1.1 billion including funds previously approved by Congress for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting\u2019s (CPB). The Senate is expected to address the issue before the July 18 deadline to act, which, ironically, is Guest DJ Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a path forward,\u201d said Pallone. \u201cAn amendment process could provide an opportunity to remove CPB from the rescission package or propose changes that lessen the impact on local stations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KOTO receives $188,000 from annual CPB grants amounting to a quarter of its current budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe administration\u2019s intimidation tactics and threats of eliminating funding for public media have pulled focus from the core work we do in serving our community,\u201d Pallone lamented. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to communicate funding needs when we\u2019re still hanging in the balance a week out from summer fundraising.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Typically, KOTO sets internal fundraising benchmarks while maximizing community participation to secure resources for operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDepending on how the Senate votes, we\u2019ll make a major push to raise additional funds for reserves,\u201d Pallone noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
KOTO forges ahead with \u201cGolden Years\u201d Guest DJ Day next Friday beginning at 9 a.m. with \u201cThe New Wave Crew.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe, as the Telluride High School (THS) radio show, represent the future generations that will love and support community radio,\u201d enthused rising THS senior Elodie Prohaska who says KOTO has provided local young DJs with \u201ca way to gain a true connection to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Steering Committee\u201d takes over the mic from 10-11 a.m. with radio trailblazers John Roth, George Greenbank, Terry Tice, Robert Allen, and Kathy Green. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo many people helped steer the station over the years with dedication and love,\u201d said Allen, former KOTO music director, general manager, and host of \u201cThe Bobalouie Show\u201d since 1978. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKOTO News Unplugged\u201d takes over the airwaves from 11 a.m. \u2013 noon featuring early KOTO reporters Rita Robinson, Norman Squier, and Nancy Craft along with current News Director Julia Caulfield and former news luminaries calling in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll include a few news clips from the late 70\u2019s and early-80\u2019s that capture the renegade, free spirit of those early days of Telluride,\u201d reported Robertson who served as news and public affairs director and station general manager between 1978 and 1985. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cModern Mavens\u201d will take to the airwaves at noon followed by \u201c’80s\/’90s Retro Rewind\u201d notables from 1-3 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 3-4 p.m. \u201cBeer Booth Banter\u201d will lead on-air fundraising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKOTO\u2019s always been there,\u201d reflected Tobin Brown who worked and managed the KOTO beer booth at Telluride Bluegrass Festival from 1990 to 2012 and hosts the longstanding Thursday morning radio show \u201cRockin\u2019 with T. Brown.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s stayed true to its mission and remains relevant. It\u2019s the soul of the community. Few organizations do more with less.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 4-5 p.m. \u201cThat 70\u2019s Gang\u201d will jump on air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTelluride was a political town with a totally freaky, outlaw vibe back in those early days,\u201d reflected Gary Hickcox who\u2019s hosted several shows over the past 50 years. \u201cKOTO was at the heart of that. With this group, there\u2019ll be some serious bullshitting about back in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresent Day Posse\u201d comprising current board and staff will close out Guest DJ Day from 5-6 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Longtime station manager Ben Kerr, who\u2019s also been a KOTO DJ since 1975, feels fortunate for friends he\u2019s made through the station \u2013 listeners and DJs alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKOTO reports traffic jams, public health and weather alerts, school closures and information you just can’t get anywhere else,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sharing of our lives that community radio brings to all of us is worthy of everyone’s support.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With each $100 donation listeners receive limited-edition \u201cKOTO 50th\u201d merchandise and are entered into a drawing for a Culinary Creative Group Denver Food & Cocktail Tour including two nights at the Clayton Hotel in Cherry Creek, dinners at A5 Steakhouse and Mister Oso, breakfast or lunch at Fox and The Hen, cocktails at two different bars, and air travel from Telluride to Denver (for local winners). The drawing will happen at the end of Guest DJ Day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As KOTO staff and leadership await rescission decisions from the Trump Administration, they\u2019re taking a long-term, strategic approach to budgeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf CPB funding were eliminated, our top priority would be maintaining current staffing levels and preserving core programming,\u201d said Pallone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KOTO has developed a two-year contingency plan that reflects this commitment while identifying areas for reducing costs elsewhere in the budget. Looking ahead, Pallone says the 2026 budget \u2014 typically prepared in the fall \u2014 is shaping up to be \u201ca lean spending plan reducing an anticipated deficit by about half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mantra for 2026 and beyond is \u2018back to our roots,\u2019\u201d she concluded. \u201cWe can still do many of the things we do now, but in a rootsy, no-frills KOTO-esque way. We know how to do scrappy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n