KUNC News was recognized as Colorado’s 2024 Radio Station of the Year, major market, at the Colorado Broadcasters Association 2025 awards ceremony in Denver on Saturday.
In total, KUNC received the top award in seven different categories, as well as five certificates of merit.
“This award reflects the incredible talent and dedication of our entire news team,” says Chief Audience and Content Director Michael Arnold. “KUNC’s success is a result of this collective effort, and this honor celebrates that.”
Erin O’Toole, host of KUNC’s daily podcast, In the NoCo, was named Best Talk Show Host. While In the NoCo itself was named the year’s Best Radio Podcast. The podcast also is produced by Ariel Lavery and edited by Brad Turner.
The entire news staff won for Best News Coverage of a Single Event for its reporting on a cluster of wildfires last summer that all started within hours of each other. That effort was led by Newscast Editor Beau Baker.
KUNC also was named Best Station Website. KUNC’s digital team is led by Jennifer Coombes and Alex Murphy.
KUNC investigative reporter Scott Franz won first place in the Best News Feature, Report or Series for his report that revealed Colorado’s online checkbook was missing thousands of lines of vital data.
Rural reporter Rae Solomon was the winner in the Best Use of Digital/Social Media category for the social media she produced for an apple picking feature story.
A team of KUNC journalists won Best Mini-Documentary or Series for a powerful set of stories about housing insecurity and education among Colorado’s young people called, “Unseen but Everywhere.” The stories were reported by Lucas Brady Woods, Emma VandenEinde and Rae Solomon. They were edited by Leigh Paterson.
KUNC journalists won certificates of merit in the following categories:
- Best Public Affairs Program category for In the NoCo
- Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast for its morning news, hosted by KUNC’s Mike Lyle
- Best News Feature, Report or Series for Emma VandenEinde’s feature about a sound artist exploring Rocky Mountain National Park
- Best Sports Coverage By an Individual or Team for Mike Lyle’s local sports coverage
- Best Sports Feature for Senior Managing Editor/Reporter Stephanie Daniel’s story about how a Latino snowboarder is improving access to snow sports in Summit County
“KUNC has built one of the best radio news teams in the country,” said KUNC Executive News Director Sean Corcoran, “and it’s an honor to be recognized for the hard work they put in every day to keep our audiences informed and engaged.”
KUNC is NPR News, Colorado Stories, kunc.org. Broadcasting at 91.5 FM and a network of 19 stations and translators around the state — including 91.7 in Denver and west metro; 102.7 FM in Boulder, 88.5 FM in Steamboat Springs, 90.7 FM in Breckenridge, 99.7 FM in Eagle, 90.9 FM in Vail, 88.1 FM in Dillon and 91.9 FM in Grand County, as well on smart speaker, via KUNC mobile app, and streaming at kunc.org. You can support KUNC at KUNC.org/donate.