KSUT operates two public radio stations - KSUT Four Corners Public Radio and KSUT Tribal Radio. Highlights from 2022 include the hiring of two full-time news reporters, hiring a Tribal Media Center coordinator to oversee training and multimedia storytelling opportunities for Native American and Indigenous individuals, being awarded Best Small Market Website from the Colorado Broadcasters Association and being voted Best Radio Station for the 10th year in a row by Durango Herald readers.
"When I was growing up, I would turn on KSUT on SUnday mornings when the traditional Native music was on and practice my dancing... It was the only place you could hear pow wow music. KSUT has always been a part on my life and I want to make sure that opportunity is available to other Native youth, regardless of where they live/"
-Sheila Nanaeto (Station Manager, Southern Ute Tribal Radio), Ignacio, CO
"With more than 40 years as a valued resource for entertainment and news in the Four Corners, KSUT is well positioned to expand its role as a provider of accurate and trustworthy information. I applaud the station's commitment to be informational, not affirmational, in its delivery of content. In doing so, it's earn the support of listeners. The Four Corners needs strong and sustainable local programming to augment NPR and BBC news, and KSUT is the answer."
-James Foster (Chairman of the Board, Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network, Inc) Durango, CO
"As the ED of the Durango Adult Education Center for 14 years, I appreciate the support KSUT has provided to all non-profits in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. You can count on KSUT to promote fundraisers and to build public awareness of non-profit services. Form sponsorships to public service announcements to the community calendar, KSUT si essential to non-profits and those they serve."
-Paulette Church (Executive Director of Fort Lewis College Continuing Education's Professional Non-profit Management Certificate Program), Durango, CO
"The radio in my car is tuned to KSUT. I listen to it wherever I go. During all my years of commuting to the Durango Herald I tuned in to Morning Edition to get NPR's perspective on the news of the day... With so many options for news and entertainment today, I find that I continue to tune in to KSUT because it provides me with a sense of place."
- Richard Ballantine (Ballantine Communications) Durango, CO
"You are one of the finest radio stations in the country, and life in the beautiful Four Corners region is just that much sweeter with you alongside."
-John Mumaw, Durango, CO
"I drive 70 minutes everyday and KSUT keeps me company!"
-Virginia Nickels, Blanco, NM
"I wouldn't live in Silverton as a year-round resident if KSUT wasn't there."
-Jan McLean, Silverton, CO
"Your programming helps keep me sane in the crazed world"
-Steve Hartvigsen, Pagosa Springs, CO
"KSUT is the greatest radio station in the country,. I have done a LOT of driving across the country, and believe me, nothing else beats it!"
-Jennifer Prosser, Durango, CO
"Even our dogs love KSUT!"
-Gregg and Gretchen Dubit, Hesperus, CO
"Thank you for the wonderful community service! I get all my news from KSUT."
- Ruthie Matthes, Durango, CO
KSUT is a community supported public broadcasting organization dedicated to serving the multicultural community of the Four Corners by providing diverse and eclectic entertainment, education, in-depth news, community and public information services promoting multi-cultural awareness and understanding.
The Southern Ute Tribe was one of the earliest pioneers of Native American radio. When KSUT signed on for the first time on June 14, 1976, it was one of only eight tribal stations in the country.
The station came to life as communications service for tribal members. Originally, the signal covered Ignacio and part of the Pine River Valley. Programming was mostly in the Ute language and included cultural affairs, community news, personal messages, traditional Native American music, and rock and popular music.
A growing demand for public radio in the Four Corners presented KSUT with an opportunity. In 1984 the station's board of directors voted to expand the station's broadcast appeal and area. It became an affiliate of both National Public Radio and American Public Radio, and added a variety of diverse music programming to the lineup.
While the station's success as a regional public radio service was apparent, it still needed to serve its original mission as a tribal radio service.
In June of 1998, KSUT returned to its roots by splitting into two signals and launching Southern Ute Tribal Radio. It offers Native American programming five days a week, and simulcasts the other signal, Four Corners Public Radio the remainder of the time. Programming, like the days of its roots, includes culture, news, and both Native American and popular music, as well as special tribal meetings, Ignacio High School sports, and other events. Tribal Radio is an affiliate of NativeVoice 1.
Tribal Radio is heard at 91.3 FM in Southwest Colorado, and at 89.7 FM in Northwest New Mexico.
Four Corners Public Radio serves 14 communities in the Four Corners, including: Durango, Silverton, Cortez, Mancos, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado; Aztec, Bloomfield and Farmington, New Mexico; and parts of northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. The station airs news, eclectic music, entertainment, storytelling, and documentary programming, and is an affiliate of NPR, the BBC, American Public Media, and Public Radio International. KSUT is the Four Corners' home for popular public radio programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!, This American Life, and A Prairie Home Companion.
The station broadcasts from studios in Ignacio, Colorado.
KSUT is an independent, non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors, and is not a tribally-owned station or service.
Organization name
KSUT
other names
KSUT
1976
Tax id (EIN)
74-2392817
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
15150 Hwy 172Mailing
PO Box 737La Plata County, CO, US