Editor’s Note: Heather Polen, KFUG’s new executive director, penned this In Media Res piece. Polen comes to KFUG with a background in local radio. KPOD’s Bill Stamps Sr. gave Polen her first job when she was just 15 — a six-hour radio show every Saturday — so she knows her way around a radio station. Polen has been involved with KFUG’s Board of Directors starting in 2024 and is helping the station continue Critz’s “dogged insistence that everyone has a voice.”

In a world where the loudest voices often belong to the wealthiest platforms, it’s easy to forget the value of small, independent media, the kind built not for profit, but for people. In Del Norte County, we’re lucky to have two such treasures: KFUG Community Radio and Redwood Voice. These aren’t just media outlets, they’re lifelines for truth, creativity, connection and they thrive because of a community that believes in the power of local voices. 

KFUG (that’s K-Fug, and yes, the name alone tells you you’re in for something different) is community radio at its best, proudly quirky, fiercely independent, and deeply rooted in Crescent City and the surrounding region. In an age of playlists programmed by AI and news spun by corporate interest, KFUG is refreshingly real. Its shows are hosted by neighbors, elders, youth, musicians, activists, care providers and people who simply care enough to speak up and share something meaningful. 

Here, you might hear a local punk band one hour, and a thoughtful conversation about mental health, housing or education the next. It’s a place where the eccentric and the essential exist side by side — a true reflection of our community’s spirit. KFUG honors every voice, not because it has to but because it wants to. It recognizes that the stories of Del Norte County are worth telling, not despite their rawness, because of it.