KYDZ

After being granted a construction permit in January 1975, KYDZ signed on the air in the summer of 1976. Broadcasting with 10 watts,[1] KYDZ was the first FM radio station to sign on the air in the Bighorn Basin; the first commercial FM outlet in the region was KENB-FM, which took to the air in December 1980.[3] Like many high school stations, KYDZ operated during the day only; in 1984, its regular broadcast hours were 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.[4] Programming was eclectic, with pop and rock music, public service announcements, news of school activities, and story programs for elementary school and preschool students.[5] The station was relocated to a new transmitter site in 1981, with its effective radiated power increased to 150 watts;[6] a second increase approved in 1986 boosted KYDZ's power to 10,000 watts.[7]

In 1976, the station planned on organizing a 77-hour radio marathon in late December to help the students gain work experience. However, the marathon took on a life of its own when Rob Russell, a football player who had been key in leading Cody to a state football title that fall and a member of the radio class, came down with a staph infection and was flown to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The students turned the marathon into a benefit to raise money for his medical treatment, raising more than $1,200.[8] The KYDZ radiothon soon became an annual tradition,[9] raising money for local causes such as a local Meals on Wheels program.[10] The 84-hour 1984 edition raised $3,417 for an 8-year-old Cody boy who had been accidentally shot months prior and sent messages to Marines stationed in Lebanon; their efforts earned them a thank-you letter from President Ronald Reagan.[4] The next year, the radiothon raised funds for a football player from Rock Springs High School who collapsed on the field during a football practice and was in a coma for four weeks.[9]

In 1996, however, KYDZ's broadcast time on air would come to an end when the school district could not afford to hire a faculty advisor to run the radio program.[2] The license was cancelled in 1998 for failure to transmit over a 12-month period.[11] The channel is now used by Wyoming Public Radio transmitter KUWP (licensed to Powell).[12][13]