KNMI Radio License Sold

Vertical Radio goes dark on Thursday. National Christian Broadcaster K-Love to take over 88.9FM.

From KNMI

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

After 41 years on the air in the Four Corners, Vertical Radio will sign off for the final time on Thursday, May 27, 2021. KNMI FM, 88.9, signed onto the airwaves, serving Farmington and San Juan County in 1980. KNMI has been owned and operated by the Four Corners Home for Children, formerly known as Navajo Ministries and Navajo Missions, since that time. KNMI could also be heard on translator stations in Durango, CO, Cortez, CO, and Pagosa Springs, CO.

Vertical Radio was the first Christian music radio station in the four corners and, over the years, has adapted its style of music and programming to best serve the market. Currently, there are approximately 8 radio stations broadcasting Christian programming to Farmington. Initially known as 'Sonshine 89,’ Vertical Radio has been financially supported by donations from listeners and businesses. It was a true community radio station.

Through the vision of Jack Drake, founder of Navajo Missions, and Jim Baker, former president of Navajo Ministries, KNMI has spent the last 41 years broadcasting positive, uplifting, Christian music in a format intended to engage with a younger audience. The radio station was a ministry outreach on the airwaves, accomplished through the help of numerous listeners, sponsors, and friends who made it possible.

In the early 1990s, Vertical Radio's ministry extended to high school sports broadcasts and included almost two decades of broadcasting the Connie Mack World Series. For numerous factors, the broadcasting license will be sold to Educational Media Foundation. The terms of the sale have not been made public.

Vertical Radio plans one last live radio show from the studios at 2103 W. Main Street in Farmington. You can hear this broadcast on Thursday, May 27, 2021, from 6:00 am to 10:00 am. The public is invited for an open house, and former Vertical Radio personalities will be in attendance to say goodbye to the community who warmly welcomed and supported the radio broadcasts. It is anticipated that programming from EMF will be switched on around 10 am on May 27 and heard on 88.9 in Farmington and the southwest Colorado translators.