From KYRS community radio:
Thin Air Community Radio announces a new era with the retirement of Mr. Michael Moon Bear from the position of Station Manager.
Mr. Moon Bear served as its much beloved Station Manager during a period of growth, strengthening KYRS’s role as an independent voice for Spokane while expanding local programming, educational opportunities, and community partnerships. Under his leadership, the station increased local music and public affairs programming, and forged lasting partnerships.
Among the many milestones achieved during his tenure were the successful relocation of KYRS’s studios to the Central Library, Downtown Spokane; the launch of the Get LOUD in the Library concert series; expanded multicultural programming; overseeing significant growth in community fundraising and underwriting support; and hosting of the 2025 Grassroots Radio Conference which welcomed community broadcasters from across the United States to Spokane.
Some thoughts from Michael Moon Bear:
“After more than 22 years with KYRS, retiring is a strange mixture of pride, gratitude, sadness, and excitement. I’ve had the extraordinary privilege of watching KYRS grow from a young, ambitious community radio project into a station deeply woven into the life of Spokane and the Inland Northwest. Along the way, I’ve worked with remarkable volunteers, programmers, staff members, artists, activists, nonprofit organizations, and community partners, people who believe, as I do, that media can be something more than a business. It can bring people together, give a microphone to voices that might otherwise go unheard, introduce us to music and ideas we never knew we needed, and help a community hear itself.
“I have had the unique opportunity to work in many facets of community radio throughout these past 22 years, everything from program host (Around The World with Michael Moon Bear), to underwriting coordinator, program director and ultimately station manager. What I’m proudest of isn’t any single event, fund drive, broadcast, or accomplishment. It’s that KYRS is still here, still independent, still local, and still doing the work. Community radio survives because people decide that it matters and then show up, sometimes under very difficult circumstances, to keep it alive. I’ve been fortunate to spend a significant part of my life among people who did exactly that. I leave the Station Manager’s chair enormously grateful for the trust that was placed in me, proud of what we built together, and convinced that stations like KYRS, and the larger Pacifica community, remain as necessary as they have ever been.”
The KYRS Board of Directors has appointed Dana Matthews as Interim Station Manager to guide the organization during its leadership transition while the Board conducts a search for a permanent Station Manager.
KYRS extends its sincere gratitude to Mr. Michael Moon Bear for his years of extraordinary service and lasting contributions to community media in Spokane and the Inland Northwest.