Jim Belcher has been the voice you wake up to as KSUT's local Morning Edition host. He's also the keeper of the KSUT events Calendar and the mad scientist behind the sizzling, sonic alchemy of the show Strange Brew.
And now he's stepping down.
October 9, 2026, was his last day as a full-time staff member. He'll continue to host Strange Brew and occasionally other shows.
He’s been a core part of the KSUT watchworks for so long that it's difficult to imagine the gears turning without him.
“I’ve always been a radio listener, even when I was a little kid,” Belcher said.
Jim grew up in South Florida, loving radio, loving music.
“I would bug my mom to call into the radio stations to request songs. I felt too shy to do it myself,” Belcher said. “I remember asking her to call in to request My Sweet Lord by George Harrison.”
As a young man, he found public radio. Fresh Air was his favorite drive time show. In the 1990s, he started listening to KSUT after moving to Durango. But even then, Jim never imagined that his voice would anchor the station.
Then, in 2007, his friend Stasia Lanier, then KSUT Station Manager, called him.
“I remember I was driving one day, and Stasia just called me out of the blue,” Belcher recalled. “She said, ‘Have you ever thought about maybe being on KSUT?’ and I said, ‘No, I never have, Stasia.’ She said she liked my voice too, which I found hard to believe."
Even though Jim had never been an on-air host before, Lanier recognized his raw talent.
“He was already a devoted listener,” she said. “He often commented and gave me feedback. Plus, he just had a great voice and a really nice on-air demeanor. That just came naturally to him.”
Over the years, Jim has become the voice for many listeners, who have also come to love his deep and eclectic knowledge of music. An accomplished musician and bass player, Belcher plays in many local Durango bands.
Icy roads and white-out blizzards never deterred Jim from arriving in the wee hours. Among colleagues, his dependability was legendary.
“Such a consistent and steady voice,” said current KSUT Executive Director Tami Graham. “He just takes care of business.”
“No matter how bad the news of the world is that day, he's the one who can coax you out of bed to go brush your teeth,” added KSUT Development Director Chris Aaland.
At times, Jim pushed through long after other staff had thrown in the towel, such as when the station had a sewage spill in the basement.
“Most people left the building because of the fumes,” Operations Manager Rob Rawls remembered. “But Jim Belcher put on a gas mask and continued broadcasting despite the dangerous fumes that were flowing throughout the building.”
Belcher was also widely praised for his kindness.
When Graham lost her life partner, Armida Huerta, Jim Belcher and his wife Terry planted a tree next to the station to honor Huerta. Since then, they have planted two more trees for two other members of the KSUT family who have passed on: Lucinda Cloud and Susie B.
“It’s this beautiful reminder of why we do what we do and the enduring presence of those who have passed on,” Graham said.
Jim Belcher said he still loves working as a broadcaster and insisted he hasn't burned out.
“My wife and I have had several friends pass away over the past few years, some of them younger than us,” Belcher said. “ We want to get out and do some things that we've been talking about for a while. With the schedule that I have at KSUT, that wasn't possible.”
The entire KSUT family wishes Jim and Terry Belcher the best on their future adventures.
