On March 17th, after consultation with staff and KCR’s board of directors, we made the difficult decision to restrict access to our studios at 308A Hall Street in Nelson to staff only.

We have 70-plus volunteers, staff and guests passing through our doors every week. We couldn’t assure ourselves that the cleaning protocols we already had in place would be effective and we couldn’t see how to practice social distancing.

So we are limiting station access to staff only. They, in turn, will manage hygiene practices with each other, working remotely when possible.

Kootenay Co-op Radio will remain on the air but you can expect to hear some differences in our programming line-up.

Staff are now contacting programmers whose shows are upcoming. Together with the Programming Committee, we are working on options to keep the station as a meaningful and helpful part of the community.

We’re looking at remote broadcasting options, special news features, some syndicated programming — and we’ll no doubt draw some jewels from the archives.

Many community organizations are restricting their operations and we didn’t come to this decision lightly.

Ultimately, this is about managing risk to our staff, our programmers, our volunteers and the broader community — reflecting local and your personal experiences. You’ll continue to find us on-air and online. Stay with us as we adjust and adapt our programming.

Stay tuned – and stay safe.