January Newsletter

By KMUD membership | January 12, 2023

2022 : Another year full of adventures at KMUD !

Earthquakes, fires, storms, outages and more, covered brilliantly by the KMUD News team. A lot of moves among the programers, but also your long time favorites are still here for your pleasure.
We happily welcomed 3 new members to the Board of Directors in December : Member Rep Chestine Anderson, Board appointed Flurina Niggli and Programer Rep Javier Rodriguez. And we have another set of members election coming in April.
Unfortunately some programers have passed:
Jack and Dr Peat, our thoughts to you!
A mosaic of emotions and people in this varied crowd that forms KMUD collective. But always 24/7 of delightful programming to inform, educate, entertain and inspire our ever transforming community.

KMUD News in the Earthquake!

This is Lois Cordova, your KMUD “Virtual Newsroom Assistant” (Weather, CSAR/Burn Day, Breaking News bulletins, etc), and member of our Emergency Response Team. I usually monitor the scanners, and during emergencies I also cruise social media, air traffic, and other pertinent to the emergency sites and people. Usually…

Just after the December 20^th, 2022 earthquake, at 2.34am, Lauren was on KMUD reporting on what she could learn from her home. Luckily, KMUD overnight DJ, Kerry Morgan was live and helped to keep the information flowing for listeners. Lauren learned early I had been severely impacted here in my home in Rio Dell. So Lauren drove to Rio Dell to report and to rescue me.

I was incapacitated as a KMUD helper, our power was out, and it was Lauren that helped to excavate my egress blocked by books and right some major furniture and appliances, before we went out together.

There was no internet services in town, so we collected information and raced back to the studio with interviews and notes.

Meanwhile, Membership Coordinator Dorothee, News Editor Stella Girkins helped to keep the public informed on the air. KMUD News was able to provide Spanish translation of each update and vital information, provided by KMUD Programmers Ingrid Leon and Brenda Perez.

In many cases KMUD was able to disseminate information for our listening faster than officials were able to post the same information to social media!! With the help of Measure Z funds, and a generous donation from the Mendocino Sheriff’s Office, KMUD was able to bolster our emergency reporting infrastructure to more quickly keep our listeners informed.

Once again on New Years Day we sprung into action, and while damages were more severe to many structures, infrastructure like power, phone, and internet were more quickly restored. While Lauren was doing live update with local earthquake expert Lorie Dengler, our Station Manager Allison Kolb, and her partner Nathan, along with my daughter and her partner “excavated me” from, yes, MORE cracks and piles, and we were able to keep the public informed, as a whole team this time, about this ongoing emergency and aftermath.

Now myself and the News team are awaiting this “category 4” atmospheric river that will impact our entire listening area, near and far. Listen in to stay informed.

KMUD News is committed to bringing live and breaking emergency reports, and will share a full synopsis at the top of each hour as needed.

Listen to the KMUD News h ere.

Time stopped in Rio Dell….
Rio Dell’s clock stopped when the earthquake happened and the power went off!

New : Business show

KMUD’s new Local Business Show debuted on Tuesday mornings at 9am in December, 2022, following Charlotte Peltz’ retirement. Programmer Patricia Tinkler, a former business owner and current KMUD Underwriting Coordinator, will be working with community business members to support local businesses by giving them a space in the conversation. First guests included Nancy Olson, CEO of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce and Nick Bown-Crawford, Executive Director of Humboldt Made, a marketing agency for Humboldt craft products. The second show, which aired hours after the 6.4 earthquake, featured Laura Lassiter from the SoHum Business and Visitors Bureau. Laura updated our community on businesses that were open after the quake in real time while sharing general information about the current economic crisis. Yesterday, Seth Johannesen (owner, 101Netlink) and Rob Buch (manager, Mendocino Community Network) gave an overview of the broadband marketplace followed by Garth Epling of Emerald Technologies who gave us the skinny on home office equipment. You can listen to past shows on the KMUD Archive and coming up every other Tuesday at 9 am.

Movers and Shakers on the Music Scene
By Dennis Maher

Attention those in need! Music Junkie Support Group with Jeff will now meet at a new time on Sunday nights from 9 till 11 pm.

By popular demand the Backwards Down the Number Line show, which features the music of Vermont jam band, Phish, will continue every Tuesday night with Katie officially taking the reins from Frying Pan Dan who has decided to stay in L.A.. We’ll miss you round here Dan.
And did you catch Katie sitting in on It’s All About The Music? What an amazing slice of local ear candy radio delivered on short notice! Amidst howling wind and atmospheric river she was filling in for Crusher on Friday morning, December 30 at 10am, and you can still enjoy it from the safety of your own home on the archive at archive.kmudfm.org.

New voices coming soon… Training sessions are ongoing with local community members of all ages with the passion and drive to become our newest Djs and engineers. If you or maybe someone you know has what it takes, come on down and see us.

Underwriter Spotlight :
Finnish Country Sauna & Hot Tubs/ Cafe Mokka
by Patricia Tinkler, Underwriting Coordinator

Arcata fixture Finnish Country Sauna & Hot Tubs and Cafe Mokka have served the community since 1982. The oldest coffee house in Humboldt county, Cafe Mokka serves traditional coffee house beverages, refusing to bend to fads that come and go.

Business is brisk at the private, clothing-optional saunas and hot tubs, according to the Manager, Petra. “We are booked every day, so please make a reservation so you are not disappointed.” Visitors are encouraged to relax by the fireplace, or beside the pond if weather permits, once they are finished. It’s a lovely way to hold on to the calming effect of the waters after your spa experience.

It’s not often that a business doesn’t need more customers, but owner Stan Henerson supports KMUD because he believes in public radio. We are privileged to collaborate with this outstanding local institution.

Finnish Country Sauna & Hot Tubs and Cafe Mokka is located at the corner of 5th and J Street. They are open daily from 11am to 11pm Sunday through Thursday, 11am to midnight on Friday and Saturday. They only accept cash and local checks so plan accordingly.

Riding on the Mud
Let’s wave goodbye to Riding On The Mud , Kmud’s motorcycle enthusiast talk show! Bobby Godwin and Joe Shepp have put the kickstands down concluding the show’s 14 year run on our airwaves. The show started out in 2008 with Bobby G and Duffy Griffin hosting for the first few years until Duffy’s untimely passing and Joe Shepp a motorcycle racer like Duffy joined the show. Bobby says he really loves our station and will continue to support and enjoy Kmud in the future. He sends his thanks to those Kmud legends who inspired him and taught him the radio ropes. That list includes Brenda Starr, Fred Baron and all the great engineers who have helped the show over the years. Thanks Joe and Bobby for a great program!