Are you tired of listening to the same five songs on every radio station over and over again? KAWC offers a wide variety of music as well as insightful news that you actually care about.

KAWC Radio has been serving our school and the community for more than four decades with the first broadcast on July 11, 1970. It began airing on 1320 AM and added 88.9 FM in 1992.

KAWC began as a student-run radio station but transitioned into a community focused station in 2006.

"When I started working here in January 2006, the only question the college Board asked me was, ëWhen is KAWC going to serve the rest of the AWC District," said Dave Reik, general manager of KAWC.

After five years, KAWC got permission from the FCC to move the transmitter, and a new one will be added at Telegraph Pass. With the new transmitters, people in Parker, Quartzite and Wellton will be able to hear KAWC.

Being a public station, KAWC is entirely funded by its listeners and businesses around the community. Twice a year KAWC holds pledge drives and usually reaches its goals. The latest pledge was held February 25 through March 4 and brought in $29,000 of its $30,000 goal.

"Right now we're raising funds to finish those transmitter projects," said Reik.

"Not many people would play the music we play; it doesn't appeal to many people," said John Gaboury, host of Gaboury's Private Stock. "Public radio is very different than commercial radio; people like it because they can't get it anywhere else."

Gaboury plays everything from Arab to classical music and even songs that Pancho Villa actually listened to.

"If a song is good, it stays good," said Gaboury.

"When I first moved out to Yuma in 1993, KAWC was the only station playing jazz," said AWC student Eugene Brown. "I was hooked."

There's something here for every palette, so why not give it a taste? You might just like it.

Photo by Zachary Zdon