SANTA CRUZ — For 43 years, KUSP was the radio voice of Santa Cruz, piping out news, music and talk shows that fans said helped bring a sense of identity to the Central Coast.
Since the station went off the air in 2016, a tenacious group has fought to bring that voice back, raising money and drumming up support for a new independent station.
Now, Central Coast Community Radio has raised $265,000 to buy a license and antenna, and is nearly ready to start broadcasting as KSQD — or K-Squid. The station will soon be at 90.7 on the FM dial.
Central Coast Community Radio member Rachel Goodman, who formerly worked at KUSP, envisions a station that offers music, news and local programming that will include content created by young people.
It will operate under the nonprofit Natural Bridges Media.
“I think people felt that the timing was right for a local station to emerge,” she said. “One that is really independent and Santa Cruz-based.”
Organizers are now considering more than 70 applications by people hoping to create their own show.
While acknowledging that stations such as KPIG and KZSC are also an inextricable part of Santa Cruz’s voice, Goodman hopes KSQD will carve out its own niche, further defining the voice of a “quirky” population that ranges from surfers to hikers to kids to seniors.
“I want people to know they are in Santa Cruz when they turn on the radio,” Goodman said.
Goodman said the station will reach about 150,000 people, from northern Santa Cruz County to the Pajaro River in South County and, strangely, to the middle of the Monterey Bay.
“The squid fishermen are going to love it,” Goodman said.
Organizers are weeding through paperwork, and a broadcast application with the Federal Communications Commission is pending.
They still need to raise about $80,000 for equipment, studio rental and day-to-day operations, and are currently looking for underwriters to help bring in revenue.
Even if they do, the budget does not currently allow for salaries.
“Right now it’s just a labor of love,” Goodman said.
Goodman said the station will be located in a building owned by Santa Cruz County Office of Education, adjacent to Harvey West Park.
That agreement would allow KSQD to train young people to perform on-air interviews, create news shows and other radio station functions.
Offering such content could also be a way for a station to attract young people disenchanted by the lackluster offerings of corporate-controlled radio, and used to having music and news immediately available on their phones, Goodman said.
The station could also be an answer for a population weary of weeding through potentially “fake” news stories from questionable sources.
“My vision is really enterprising journalism, interview programs and news,” Goodman said. “They’re saying, ‘in this day and age where it seems like fake news is everywhere, I need something reliably true and local.’ It’s something people are hungry for.”
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For information, or to make a donation to KSQD, visit centralcoastcommunityradio.org.
