Colorado Springs, Dec. 11, 2024 - KRCC, the southern Colorado public radio station operated by Colorado Public Radio, announced today the retirement of longtime KRCC staffer Jeff Bieri. Bieri, who started with the station in 1989 and is currently its station manager, will retire Dec. 31.
“As KRCC came into the CPR family of services, Jeff was the key connector and ambassador to elevate our service to Colorado Springs and to share the stories of southern Colorado across the state,” said Stewart Vanderwilt, president and CEO of Colorado Public Radio. “His voice and presence will be missed, and he leaves a lasting legacy at the station.”
Bieri says his earliest memories of KRCC date back to being a four-year-old child listening to the station’s polka show with his parents, who were Swiss immigrants and thrilled to hear the music of their heritage on a station in Colorado Springs. As a teen, he attended a party where KRCC, then run by Colorado College students, was playing in the background. He heard the DJ mention a membership drive, asking for donations and music requests. He remembers calling in, pledging five dollars, and asking to hear something from jazz fusion band Weather Report. The station obliged, and hearing his name said on air along with his music request sparked an interest in the station that would last a lifetime.
Bieri became a volunteer music host in 1989, and after briefly testing him on the midnight-to-2 a.m. shift, he was offered his first paid role at KRCC, hosting music shows from 2 to 5 a.m. He soon moved to hosting Morning Edition, where he discovered a love of NPR news programming. At the time, KRCC was a mixed-format station, broadcasting news in the mornings and afternoons, and music at midday and through the night. Soon the music director position opened up, and Bieri moved into that role. After about 15 years, he was promoted to the station’s program director, a position he held until KRCC partnered with CPR in 2020, at which time he became the station manager.
In his 35 years with the station, Bieri hosted every music show the station offered, as well as NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, with one exception: he managed to skirt any obligation to host a Celtic music show the station aired in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving that up to others more in tune with the genre.
“It has been a profound honor to work at KRCC and serve this community, and I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our listeners and supporters,” said Bieri. “As I step away, I hope they will continue to champion KRCC and recognize the vital role it plays in our lives.”
In honor of his decades-long commitment to the station and its fundraising, KRCC has launched the Jeff Bieri Member Challenge Fund. Donations made to this fund will go toward efforts to inspire new members to join in supporting this vital service to southern Colorado.
Bieri’s retirement also means the retirement of the KRCC office dog, his border collie Marvin. Marvin has been a faithful KRCC servant for nearly a decade, providing the office with an endless supply of good vibes.
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About Colorado Public Radio
Colorado Public Radio is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization delivering meaningful news, music, and cultural experiences to everyone in Colorado using the power of the human voice in all its forms. Roughly 95 percent of CPR’s funds come from the private support of listeners, businesses and foundations. For more information, visit www.cpr.org.
- CPR News delivers in-depth, insightful and impartial news and information from around the world, across the nation and throughout Colorado, examining its relevance to our state and connecting it to our community.
- CPR Classical takes listeners on an in-depth exploration of thoughtfully curated music – with an emphasis on Colorado’s classical community – providing context to a broad range of meaningful and compelling works from past to present.
- Indie 102.3 takes listeners inside the world of new and independent music – exposing them to up-and-coming artists and highlighting Colorado’s local music scene.
- Denverite is an online news source dedicated to Denver's curious and concerned.
- KRCC is a public radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serving Southern Colorado. KRCC is operated by Colorado Public Radio in partnership with Colorado College.
