KUTI
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| Simulcast with KBRD | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Olympia, Washington |
| Frequency | 680 kHz |
| Branding | K-Bird |
| Programming | |
| Format | Nostalgia |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BJ & Skip's For the Music |
| History | |
First air date | March 7, 1994 |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 26893 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 250 watts (days only) |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°3′44.00″N 122°49′49.00″W / 47.0622222°N 122.8302778°W |
| Translator | 101.1 K266BM (Olympia) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | kbrd.org |
KUTI (680 AM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lacey, Washington, United States, and serves the Olympia area, operating only during the daytime hours.[2] Owned by the BJ & Skip's for the Music foundation—a non-profit 501(c)3 organization where donations are tax-deductible—it features a nostalgia radio format branded as "K-Bird".
KUTI is simulcast on KBRD (920 AM) in Olympia and relayed around the clock over low-power FM translator K266BM at 101.1 MHz in Olympia.
The station signed on the air on March 7, 1994, as KNTE. On October 7, 1994, the station changed its call letters to KLDY. Then on February 17, 1995, it switched to the current KBRD.[3]
Larry "Skip" Morrow owned an FM radio station but was interested in also owning an AM station. When he purchased the construction permit for KBRD, he didn't have enough radio equipment to go on the air. He was also interested in securing the KBRD call sign. When the station was ready to sign on, the call letters belonged to someone else, so the station began as KLDY. When the KBRD call sign became available, Morrow transferred the KLDY call letters to his Classical music AM station at 1280, clearing the way for 680 KBRD.[4]
KBRD was named for BJ, Morrow's Moluccan cockatoo, whom he described as the "music director". If BJ danced to the music, it was put on KBRD's playlist. Morrow ran both KBRD and his FM radio station from his living room. Ten years after KBRD went on the air, Morrow died of cancer. Before his death, he transferred ownership of the radio station to a foundation he created: BJ and Skip's for The Music Foundation. The station is now run by Adrian DeBee (music) and Jack Ondracek (engineering).
In 2025, the facilities of KGTK (920 AM) were donated to the BJ and Skip's For the Music Foundation.[5] The KBRD call sign was moved to 920 on July 1, 2025, with 680 changing to KUTI.[6]