KUNC

At the University of Northern Colorado

KUNC began operations in 1966 as KCBL-FM at what was then known as Colorado State College. It operated on 91.3 MHz. The college changed its name to University of Northern Colorado (UNC) on May 1, 1970, at which time KCBL-FM became KUNC-FM. That October 31, it moved to 91.5 MHz and upgraded from 10 watts to 3,000 watts. On November 22, 1971, KUNC became the first NPR-affiliated radio station in Colorado, having previously provided an outlet for student training.

Community Radio for Northern Colorado era

Beginning in the late 1990s, the University of Northern Colorado reduced financial support of KUNC as it moved to redirect its spending to instructional expenses. In February 2001, the university nearly agreed to sell KUNC to Denver-based Colorado Public Radio (CPR) for $1.3 million. CPR intended to broadcast its news/talk service as part of a restructuring into news/talk and classical music stations. This was a departure from the eclectic format of classical, pop, jazz, and folk music KUNC had aired, creating some concern among listeners. However, substantial lobbying led the UNC board of trustees to give the station until the end of February to raise a figure approximating $2 million. A new group, Friends of KUNC, was formed to raise money and by the end of the month had accumulated $865,000 and, in total, $1.9 million. Both public radio organizations had raised their bids when a Christian radio network expressed interest, but after that group withdrew, the trustees chose the local bid because of the concern a combination with a Denver organization had raised.

Under the agreement, the friends group—calling itself Community Radio for Northern Colorado (CRNC)—took over operations of KUNC on July 1, 2001, and moved it out of Carter Hall on the UNC campus to studios in the Bank One Building in downtown Greeley. In the mid-2000s, CRNC upgraded translators and built new full-service licenses across Colorado to prevent pre-emption by other non-commercial broadcasters. In July 2007, KUNC began transmitting from Buckhorn Mountain, northwest of Fort Collins. The new location widened the station's coverage to include most of the northern portion of metro Denver, though some listeners in Grand County lost the signal as a result.

CRNC began providing separate news and music services after it purchased KJAC (105.5 FM) and relaunched it as the adult album alternative station The Colorado Sound in 2016.

Merger with Rocky Mountain Public Media

In March 2026, Community Radio for Northern Colorado and Rocky Mountain Public Media (RMPM), the parent organization of Rocky Mountain PBS, announced that they had signed a nonbinding letter of intent to explore a merger, citing the end of federal funding for public broadcasting. Under an asset purchase agreement signed on June 30, 2026, a limited liability company operated by RMPM agreed to acquire CRNC's six full-service FM stations, including KUNC and KJAC, along with 11 FM translators.

The FCC approved the transfer in August 2026, and the transaction was completed on October 1. RMPM also assumed control of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, a statehouse reporting exchange that had included it, KUNC, Colorado Public Radio, and The Colorado Sun.