About Us
KAWC Colorado River Public Media is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a non-commercial, educational radio station. KAWC's licensee is the Arizona Western College District Governing Board.
With studios and transmitters located on the main campus of Arizona Western College in Yuma, KAWC AM 1320 began broadcasting on July 11, 1970, under the leadership of Robert E. ("Uncle" Bob) Hardy. KAWC FM 88.9 was added in 1992. In early 2006, KAWC began simulcasts of the FM service on kawc.org. In the summer of 2008, simulcasts of KAWC AM began.
In November 2013, KAWP FM 88.9 in Parker went on the air thanks to listener support and funding from our licensee, Arizona Western College, and broadcasts our NPR and BBC News programming stream.
In late 2014, KAWC relocated the primary FM transmitter to Telegraph Pass, east of Yuma, thanks to a generous contribution from Timothy Conovaloff, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and listener support. This move significantly improved our coverage of east and west Yuma County, reaching as far as Dateland, Arizona, and the outskirts of El Centro, California, on the I-8 corridor.
In 2018, when we brought the FM translator online for AM 1320, the call letters were changed to KOFA, and the station was rebranded as Border Radio.
Until 2023, KAWC broadcasted from the Robert E. Hardy Radio Studio Complex, dedicated to "Uncle Bob" Hardy, KAWC's first general manager from 1970-1992. Uncle Bob passed away on January 5, 2016, and News Director Lou Gum produced this remembrance.
In October 2023, KAWC/KOFA moved to new studios in the Matador Activity Center on Arizona Western College’s Yuma campus, thanks to funding from Arizona Western College, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and a generous gift from Mike Suba. The new studios are the first custom-built spaces for KAWC/KOFA, developed under the leadership of General Manager Dave Riek. This studio offers a refreshing space with new technology so KAWC/KOFA can reactivate its student training program and bring 24/7 coverage to Yuma and La Paz County communities.
Mission Statement
KAWC is dedicated to educating, informing, and entertaining our audience through high-quality content. We serve the diverse needs of our audience with music, news, public affairs, and fine arts programming.
Station Leadership
Robert E. (Bob) Hardy, General Manager, 1970-1992
Frank Preciado, General Manager, 1992-2005
Dave Riek, General Manager, 2005-present