KMUN

The Tillicum Foundation was incorporated in 1977 with the goal of bringing a local radio station to Astoria.^[5] In the early 1980s, a plan gestated to bring a community radio station to Astoria. On November 10, 1981, the station received its construction permit. Because Astoria was not in range of public radio at the time, the station was a high priority for grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. After getting the permit, volunteers of the nascent KMUN reached out to Portland community radio station KBOO for assistance; at one point, it was thought that KMUN might rebroadcast part of KBOO's broadcast day because of a potential lack of local interest,^[6] but it was not feasible to relay KBOO's signal from Portland over remote terrain to Astoria.^[7]

KMUN began broadcasting on April 17, 1983.^[7] The original transmitter facility was on Megler Mountain,^[7] where KMUN erected a donated 60-foot (18 m) timber telephone pole.^[6] Originally reaching only the Astoria area, the station expanded down the Oregon Coast in 1986 with the addition of translators relaying its signal.^[7] KMUN's studios were originally in the Gunderson Building until a supporter bought a house on Exchange Street in 1987 and donated it to the Tillicum Foundation; the station needed to relocate so it could install a satellite dish to receive NPR programming.^[5][7] Its programming was nearly entirely volunteer-produced; there were 30 volunteers when the station launched, about 70 by 1988,^[5] and 250 in 2003.^[8] In 2003, the station launched a local news department, building a newsroom in place of a decaying porch at Tillicum House.^[7] The Tillamook translator was replaced in 2004 by the higher-power KTCB,^[9] in part to prevent the translator from being displaced by any future stations.^[10]

KCPB-FM began operating April 17, 2006, the 23rd anniversary of KMUN's sign-on.^[11] It featured a format of mostly national programming, primarily classical music, with music scheduled at times when KMUN had talk programming and vice versa. The creation of KCPB-FM resolved tensions among KMUN listeners over whether to air more national programming from NPR. It provided much of the service previously offered by a fringe signal from KPLU-FM in Tacoma, Washington, which was about to go away, and cable radio's offering of Oregon Public Broadcasting, which had recently been discontinued.^[12] Much of the equipment was previously used by KMUN prior to a technical upgrade.^[13]

KMUN stayed on the air during the Great Coastal Gale of 2007 despite having a large elm tree crash into the studio building.^[14]

On October 1, 2025, Tillicum suspended the operations of KCPB-FM, citing "ongoing funding challenges" (including the U.S. government pulling funding from public media), as well as a desire to "reset" the station and relaunch it at a later date with "alternate programming sources". The suspension is projected to last twelve months.^[15] Its call sign was changed to KMUX-FM on July 1, 2026.^[4]

• List of community radio stations in the United States