KMRE began broadcasting in 2005 and is the longest broadcasting public radio station in Bellingham. The station began as part of the Spark Museum, an amazing step back in time to the early days of electricity and radio. The station initially broadcast music and programming from the Golden Age of radio – the 1920s through the advent of television.
As a community-oriented, low-power radio licensee, it was important for the station to show its commitment to Bellingham and Whatcom County, so it actively sought out people in the community who would benefit from telling their stories. Today, KMRE continues as an all-volunteer, listener supported, independent community media organization, focusing on enabling un-served and under-served voices and giving them a place to be heard.
If you’ve got a story, we’ll help you tell it! We are eager to provide technical assistance, organization, and studio time to community members, non-profits, and charities to help them raise their voices.
We train producers, broadcasters, and audio engineers; and feature music, conversations, and entertainment you won’t hear anywhere else.
In 2018, KMRE moved to new studios in the Bellingham National Bank building, with a new transmission site atop the Bellingham Herald building. In 2020 we applied for, and received, the opportunity to boost our signal from 100 watts to 2000 watts. In late 2020 we started a fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 dollars in order to buy new equipment to raise our signal strength. In March of 2023 we started the upgrade process, beginning with a switch of our signal frequency from 102.3FM to 88.3FM This switch allows us to increase our signal strength without stepping on other broadcast signals in our area. Our next step is to move our antenna from the Bellingham Herald building to a higher tower on King Mountain. After that, a brand new transmitter, which we expect to be delivered in September of 2023 will complete the initial upgrade of our signal. With two booster locations planned as well, we will have solid coverage throughout populated Whatcom County.
In August 2023 our studio location also changed, from the basement of the Bellingham National Bank building to a much larger space in Cascade Hall at Whatcom Community College.
You can also listen online, or anywhere in the world, at www.KMRE.org.
