Las Cruces community radio celebrates third anniversary

Robert McCorkle has spent two and a half years on the board for local community radio station, KTAL-LP at 101.5 FM. He also can be heard on the air as one of the Cosmic Troubadours with Marty Racine. The two have completed more than 140 live shows from the studio.

This year, the little local station is celebrating its third year and struggling to stay afloat like so many other businesses in the time of COVID-19. July 26 marks the third anniversary of KTAL (aka Radio Que Tal) going on the air throughout the Mesilla Valley. In 2019, a musical Roadrunner Revue brought community members together for a grand fundraiser.

“To get enough funding to run the station, we count on memberships,” McCorkle said. “Last year, the Roadrunner Revue was exceptionally beneficially good entertainment. We had a great silent auction, the ticket sales were good, so we got to do a fundraiser the old-fashioned way.”

Due to the impact of COVID-19, KTAL’s board of directors has canceled the Second Annual Roadrunner Revue benefit event, which had been scheduled for later this year at the Rio Grande Theatre.

Instead, Las Cruces community radio will hold a third anniversary fundraiser online during live shows from Aug.1 through Aug. 8 to raise funds necessary to keep the all-volunteer, non-profit radio station on the air.

Listeners are invited to provide what support they can during the fundraiser by visiting the KTAL website (www.lccommunityradio.org) and hitting the “donate” button, and while there, make a comment on what they think of current programming and suggest how KTAL can better serve the community.

McCorkle said the variety of programming and community service the station provides is important to Las Cruces. It provides an informative alternative to the people of the community, he said.

“We feel like we give a voice to some of the voiceless in Las Cruces,” he said. “We are an outlet for artists and musicians, an alternative to traditional commercial radio. We do everything from public-affairs shows to spiritual, environmental and science, as well as a variety of music, including progressive rock from the 60s to today’s jazz to blues.”

In service to the community, the station has also broadcasted live local high school graduation ceremonies, weekly coronavirus updates and has several shows devoted to sharing information about businesses and activities in the area.

In addition to donations, the station also relies on grants to pay for licensing fees, tower rental and the usual things needed to run an office space/studio.

“We appreciate the help of the community,” McCorkle said.

Station General Manager Bruce A. Ernst oversees the day-to-day running of the facility. He and two others, Linda Hall and Nan Rubin, are responsible for selecting the programs.

“For the most part, the station runs itself,” Ernst said.  “I’m really happy to be part of this. I think it’s a great thing for the community.”

But KTAL runs solely on volunteer power, he said. The show hosts and board members all put in their time to help keep the station going. Several of the board members also host shows and serve on the Program Advisory Council. In tota,l there are about 45 volunteers who put their hearts into the station.

“I have always enjoyed radio since I was a kid,” Ernst said. “I would listen to everything from music to news. And we are trying to bring more local news and cover more in depth. We already have interviews lined up for the electoral races coming up.”