Tune in to 90.9 FM every weekday from 6 to 7 p.m. and the steady, curious voice of Lara Jones and her bill of guests will greet you over the airwaves. <\/p>\n
Jones hosts “RadioACTive<\/a>” \u2014 a show that proudly features \u201cgrassroots activists, community builders, punk-rock farmers, and DIY makers and musicians\u201d \u2014 at KRCL<\/a>. The Salt Lake City station\u2019s programming focuses entirely on arts, culture and music. <\/p>\n In one year, Jones estimates that her show has 900 guests. In August alone, she featured the new president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah<\/a>, had a show dedicated<\/a> to National Senior Citizens Day and highlighted<\/a> Utah Americana band Hectic Hobo<\/a>. <\/p>\n Her entire show, she said, is about \u201cpassing the microphone to folks to share their lived experiences.\u201d <\/p>\n (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lara Jones, executive producer and host of “RadioACTive,” on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.<\/p>\n But a loss of federal funding threatens this particular segment of KRCL\u2019s programming. <\/b>The station is set to lose<\/a> 10% of its annual budget after Congress voted this summer to claw back money from public media<\/a>. <\/p>\n Two station staffers, who help \u201cRadioActive\u201d deepen its community roots by recruiting guests and putting together show highlights called \u201cRadioACTive Rewinds,\u201d have their salaries funded through federal dollars KRCL has previously received.<\/p>\n The staffers also help as substitute hosts and support for live bands in the studio, according to Gavin Dahl<\/a>, the station\u2019s executive director. <\/p>\n While no budget cut decisions have been made \u2014 and Dahl wants to keep his existing staff intact \u2014 the station needs to close a $136,000 funding gap. So far, it has raised over $56,000.<\/p>\n (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Lara Jones, executive producer and host of “RadioACTive” (top right), on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.<\/p>\n To stave off staffing cuts, Dahl has said he would look to slash other expenses, such as professional development opportunities.<\/p>\n Failure to fill the funding gap by year\u2019s end, however, could endanger the staffers\u2019 positions. <\/p>\n The station is banking on its decades of community-driven programming to pave the way for a steady future. KRCL says it has dedicated its existence to serving Utahns, and now it\u2019s looking to Utahns for support.<\/p>\n Community-driven from the beginning <\/p>\n KRCL\u2019s focus on arts and community is embedded in the station\u2019s <\/b>foundation, according to founder Stephen Holbrook<\/a>. <\/p>\n Holbrook was involved in the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, and was a secretary at the NAACP.<\/a><\/p>\n During that period, he said, \u201cit became clear to me that there were lots of things that the main media at the time were not covering; that included music, involvement in the community and minority issues.\u201d <\/p>\n That absence of coverage became the \u201cmain driver\u201d for Holbrook to \u201csee what could be done.\u201d <\/p>\n Holbrook said it took him five years to raise the money required by the Federal Communications Commission at the time to get KRCL up and running. Mustering money meant getting help from anyone he could make the case to, including singing cowboy Gene Autry. He even went on a fundraising trip back East with Robert Redford, the founder of the Sundance Film Festival. <\/p>\n By 1979, KRCL hit the airwaves.<\/p>\n The first 20 years of on-air programming at the station was done by volunteers, he said, with individual shows focusing on various minority communities. <\/p>\n \u201cThere was one program called \u201dHandy Capables,” done by a blind woman,\u201d Holbrook said. \u201cWe had Braille on the control board so she could operate the control board.\u201d <\/p>\n (Adam Finkle | Salt Lake Magazine) Donna Land Maldonado in 2010.<\/p>\n Holbrook later brought on Donna Land Maldonado<\/a>, a force in the Utah radio scene who was hired through a grant funded by a federal anti-poverty program. Maldonado, a Northern Ute tribe member, died in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n She would start several programs while at KRCL, including the \u201cLiving the Circle of Life,\u201d the only music program in the state dedicated to Indigenous people, and \u201cConcerning Gays and Lesbians,\u201d a show dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. <\/p>\n Maldonado would later bring on people like Ebay Hamilton, the current host of “The Afternoon Show.<\/a>“<\/p>\n Now, every Friday on \u201cRadioACTive,\u201d a homegrown band plays live on the show in the station\u2019s community-funded band room. Utah musicians like Little Moon,<\/a> Lavender Menaces<\/a> and Talia Keys,<\/a> and national names like Alabama Shakes and the Indigo Girls have left their sonic footprint on the show.<\/p>\n At KRCL, listeners learn about women who rock with Eugenie Hero Jaffe. They reflect on missed connections with Bianca Velasquez. They experience the world of music with World Village. <\/p>\n Holbrook said this focus on the fabric of Utah gives the station staying power, even in the face of economic hardship.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as KRCL is locally driven,\u201d he said, \u201clocal music, groups and people are involved, [then] it will remain viable.\u201d<\/p>\n KRCL fills a \u2018niche\u2019 <\/p>\n Barb Guy and Chris Rohrer, co-chairs for KRCL\u2019s history committee<\/a>, are working on a book for the station\u2019s 50th anniversary in 2029. <\/p>\n \u201cRight now,\u201d Guy explained, \u201cwe\u2019re interviewing people and writing like crazy.\u201d <\/p>\n The duo is also trying to collect as many historical program guides from the station as possible. <\/p>\n A 1995 guide has a d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu moment: a page urging members <\/b>and listeners to make their voices heard as a complete elimination<\/a> of government funding for public media was considered. In that case, the cuts didn\u2019t materialize.<\/p>\n Through their research, Guy and Rohrer found the station has always bounced back from challenges. In short, KRCL has shown up for its listeners, and its listeners have shown up for the station. <\/p>\n Many times, that support looks like volunteer hours.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we do know is, at least in the first several decades that we have program guides for,\u201d Rohrer said, \u201cthe station has always, at any given time, had about 150 volunteers.\u201d <\/p>\n In some cases, KRCL\u2019s listeners join the station in other capacities. <\/p>\n (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) KRCL DJ Ebay J Hamilton on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.<\/p>\n