 In 1978, the station opened its microphones to the greater Colorado Springs community, paving the way for it to become Colorado's third NPR member station in 1984.From the 1980s onward, it built a series of translators to help better penetrate its largely mountainous service area.It also increased the power of the primary transmitter, In the 1980s, the tower height was boosted to over , making the signal comparable to other major FM stations in Colorado Springs.