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Underground Neighborhood Radio Stations Are Popping Up Across Seattle
A new wave of low-power FM stations foster community connection.
This article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
In 2010, Congress passed the Local Community Radio Act to allow low- power FM stations in urban areas, something formerly only permitted in rural areas, for community groups and nonprofits to share noncommercial information and local news. In recent years, a number of stations in Seattle—each with an approximately 3.5-mile, hyperlocal broadcast radius—have been approved, and some are just powering up. Here are a few to check out on the dial.
KODX-FM 96.9
Earth On-the-Air Independent Media, University District: News, interviews, radio documentaries and live forums for radical and progressive perspectives on racial, economic and environmental justice.
KMGP-FM 101.1
Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange (SPACE) Radio, Magnuson Park: Neighborhood, park and event information, including youth programming and interviews with park officials.
KHUH-FM 104.9
Hollow Earth Radio, Central District: Experimental local music of all genres and weekly radio shows, such as Central Sounds, about interesting music and conversation connected to Seattle’s Central District.
KVRU-FM 105.7
Rainier Valley Radio, Rainier Valley: In one of the most culturally diverse areas of Seattle, this station aims to educate and entertain listeners through multilingual and multicultural talk programs.
KBFG-FM 107.3
Fulcrum Community Communications, Ballard, Fremont and Greenwood: Features shows about North Seattle’s cultural history, as well as an eclectic combination of local, live, youth and traditional music.
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Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
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The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
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Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…