KMRE Radio to host fundraiser to expand into Blaine, Birch Bay

Bellingham-based community radio station KMRE will hold its first pledge drive from Friday, May 17 to Sunday, May 19. Funds donated from the community will go toward the station’s goal of expanding and improving signal to spread across Whatcom and Island counties, specifically into the Blaine and Birch Bay area.

KMRE started in 2005 in the basement of Bellingham’s SPARK Museum, and has grown into a community mainstay, relying on an army of volunteer reporters and producers to cover local issues throughout Whatcom County.

But as executive director Suzanne Blais explained, there’s only so much a radio station can do without a strong signal. And in a geographically isolated area such as Whatcom County, signals that should in theory reach a certain audience often don’t.

“Radio itself is not an exact science, it’s a little bit of alchemy,” Blais said. “You’d think it’s engineering, but the geography of our area gets in the way. There are places that should be receiving us that aren’t, so we’re in tweaking, testing mode.”

Blais said the station hopes to expand its frequency – 88.3 FM on the dial – to reach tens of thousands of more people. But that takes funding.

That need for expansion, plus a desire to fund and properly pay its cadre of reporters and producers, led to KMRE starting its first on-air fundraising campaign.

For Blais, community-powered radio, just like print media, can be a way to lower barriers of understanding between groups in a politically and economically diverse part of the country like northwest Washington.

“I see radio as a potential bridge. If folks start to utilize it, we’ll find our way back together again,” Blais said. “Not that we’ll agree on everything, but I think we can agree on the fact that we love this place and there are reasons for us to work together to try and maintain it.”

The fundraiser will be live on air from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the weekend, and the station will feature interviews with community leaders like Bellingham mayor Kim Lund, Mt. Baker Theatre executive director John Purdie, Community Boating Center executive director Bryan Rust and many other  voices.

KMRE set its fundraising goal at $5,000, and has raised over $1,500 by press time. To donate to the station, visit KMRE.org.

“It’s not just that we want to expand and take over the world,” Blais joked. “It’s that we want to represent as much of the community, the honest-to-God broadcast area, as possible.”