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New on DCTV

In The Studio - All the possibilities of Chamber Music

In The Studio - Four Decades of Dance

In The Studio - Bringing out the Poet in Everyone

In The Studio - Jammin' on A St.

Davis Parent University presents Ned Johnson, on October 30, 2024

A Freeway Teach-In: Davis Futures Forum on the Future of the I-80 Corridor

COVID-19 Community Report 2020-21

Starting in March 2020 in the beginning of the pandemic shutdown, Davis Media Access Executive Director Autumn Labbe-Renault started producing and hosting live radio shows on KDRT 95.7 FM airing Tuesdays 12-12:30pm and Fridays 12-12:30pm to help update the community about COVID-19. This show became a compendium of local resources with check-ins from local officials and other community leaders and represents an example of the importance of local community media centers serving as a hub for vital local information. Over 50 episodes aired.

In the Studio: State of the Arts in Davis

In The Studio - State of Arts

Tim Gaffaney hosts Rachel Hartsough, who is the City of Davis Arts & Culture Manager. They discussed the mission of the office, showed images of projects they have done and are working on, using art to promote social action, sustainability and environmental stewardship, and how Covid has affected the arts landscape.

Congressman Garamendi presents 2021 Women of the Year awards - DMA Executive Director is one of 12 honored from Yolo County

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DMA’s Executive Director Autumn Labbe-Renault was honored Nov. 9 as one of the 2021 Women of the Year for the 3rd Congressional District. Presented by Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA03, the annual awards honor women who go above and beyond serving their communities.

One of 44 women honored throughout Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties this year, Autumn was honored specifically for her media coverage that helped communities around Yolo County stay connected during the pandemic, though Garamendi also noted her longtime work on local election coverage.

Advocating for the Arts

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Davis Media Access (DMA) straddles an interesting intersection between the arts and technology, but we are generally classified as an arts and culture organization. Our Yolo County arts and culture nonprofits were deeply impacted during the pandemic, both financially and programmatically, and many of us still have our doors closed or our services deeply curtailed.

One of the hats I wear is chair of Arts Alliance Davis. I’m pleased to note I’ll serve as moderator for an an important Aug. 30 workshop, “Mapping the Sector: Arts & Culture Post-Pandemic.” Co-hosted by Arts Alliance Davis, YoloArts and the Yolo Community Foundation, the virtual event will detail these impacts and explore what reopening and recovery look like.   

The workshop will feature a presentation about the current needs of the arts and culture sector, followed by a panel discussion featuring local nonprofit leaders providing context, information, and stories. Then all participants are invited into facilitated breakout groups for discussion and collaboration. Register here

--Autumn Labbe-Renault, Executive Director

KDRT wins national award

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KDRT Wins 2021 Hometown Media Award

DAVIS, California ─ KDRT 95.7 FM has received a 2021 Hometown Media Award from the Washington, DC-based Alliance for Community Media (ACM) Foundation. Station representatives will accept the award for “Overall Excellence in Community Radio” at a virtual ceremony June 30, 2021. This is an inaugural year for this award, and was awarded to three stations of different sizes.

KDRT is a project of Davis Media Access (DMA), the only nonprofit community media center in Yolo County. Founded in 1988 and based in Davis, DMA carries out its mission of providing alternatives to commercial media through partnerships across Yolo County.

The radio station—whose motto is “Where the Grassroots Grow”—launched in 2004 and has been broadcasting from the DMA facility at 1623 Fifth Street 24/7 ever since. In fact, DMA's original incarnation - Davis Community Television--was the first public access center in the nation to launch a Low-Power FM radio station.

With 34 local programmers, the station provides an eclectic mix of music and public affairs programming, with live streaming and podcasts available, and listeners around the globe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of its volunteer programmers learned how to record from home, keeping the community well connected despite distance and isolation.

Mental Health Month Spotlight: DMA revisits three interviews with local mental health professionals

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May is Mental Health Month, and we at DMA see that as a prime time to get resources and information in front of the community. DMA's Executive Director Autumn Labbe-Renault said, "our staff lost a good friend when our own Brian Holsten died by suicide some years ago. We believe in promoting resources and having discussions towards normalizing mental illness, and to that end, it will always crop up in our programming from time to time."

DMA Annual Report video for 2020 highlighted by Alliance for Community Media

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How do you document the significant changes that our community and our organization have gone through over this past pandemic year? DMA's Annual Report 2020: When Everything Changed is a 5-minute video that takes the viewer through the key changes, challenges, and creative and resilient adaptations that DMA/DCTV/DJUSD.tv/KDRT experienced last year while finding new ways to connect to our community. From assisting many nonprofits with the transition to "virtual" online community celebrations, events, and live local election night coverage, to last summer's youth online workshop week "Hollywood from Home" to training staff and volunteers to produce their interview and KDRT music programs at home - we continued to grow connections. We were thrilled to have our video selected by the national advocacy organization Alliance for Community Media to serve as an example of telling the 2020 store of resiliency. To learn more about DMA and our work this past year, you can check out our short and recently released Annual Report Video.

Thanks for supporting DMA/KDRT on May 6, BDOG2021

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During the 24 hours of Big Day of Giving (BDOG) on May 6, Davis Media Acccess and KDRT received close to 100 donations, and we exceeded our 24-hour goal for the second year in a row. Thank you for the generous support of our community media! In Yolo County, 98 nonprofits received $1.5 million -- up 75% from the pre-pandemic 2019 figures, according to the Yolo Community Foundation.

Bob Dunning Parade - Celebrating 51 years at the Davis Enterprise, part 2

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DAVIS, Calif. (April 19, 2021) — The popular Picnic Day Parade and the Davis Children’s Christmas Parade were canceled by the pandemic. But the community is invited to enjoy a do-it-yourself parade Saturday, April 24, to honor Davis Enterprise columnist and sportswriter Bob Dunning on his 51-plus years with the newspaper.

Arts Alliance Davis - Connections increase impact of Davis arts sector

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By Wendy Weitzel for the Davis Enterprise (April 15, 2021) Local artists continue connecting and sharing their craft, knowing their voice is amplified when they work together. That was the message April 8, 2021 at a virtual meeting of Arts Alliance Davis. The 18 attendees heard first about the newly formed Sacramento Alliance for Regional Arts. The nonprofit promotes and advocates for arts, art education and cultural equity in the greater Sacramento region.

Davis Media Access: Getting back into the routine (Column for Apr 1, 2021 Davis Enterprise)

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Excitement is building for vaccine availability and the prospect of life beginning to return to normal. I’m starting to field many questions about when Davis Media Access will “reopen,” and would like to take this opportunity to address a number of them in one place. Some things to know:

Tune in for "Celebrating Bob Dunning" on Friday April 9 at 4pm!

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A celebration of Bob Dunning's unprecedented career at The Davis Enterprise on Friday April 9 at 4pm. The presentation includes his early years in Davis, covering community and UC Davis sports, writing a widely-read newspaper column, supporting community activities and raising a family. Special appearances by friends, elected officials and community members. Hosted by Bob Bowen, set a reminder and watch the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8JQBnfTOAc

Concern for the Creative Economy (column in Feb. 26, 2021 Davis Enterprise)

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As the name implies, Davis Media Access (DMA) is a community media center, but it’s generally classified under the larger umbrella of arts and culture organizations. This is one of those things that has bearing as we apply for grants, but it also plays out in our day-to-day work, as we teach both media technology and media arts.

One of the hats I wear in our community is as chair of Arts Alliance Davis. We're a coalition of arts-minded folks from all around Yolo County: we're artists, we staff diverse arts organizations, and we promote arts opportunities. In normal times, we meet approximately six times per year to network and strengthen the arts in Davis and beyond. I love this role, as I’ve learned much about many hidden gems (people and places) across Yolo County.

It’s been an excruciatingly hard year for many of our participating organizations and artists. As Julie Baker of CA Arts Advocates recently noted on Facebook, “From the CA $227 billion budget, CA is in good shape financially with a $15 billion projected surplus. Preliminary read for creative industries, looks like state arts agency stays around the same with $25 million for Cultural Institutions in grants in the next round of $575 million for small businesses.

“It is a start but considering the devastation to the creative industries as compared to our economic impact pre-COVID (larger than that of both construction and transportation) it is simply not enough,” Baker said.

Reflections On A Changing Landscape (column in Feb. 5, 2021 Davis Enterprise )

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This month marks 23 years that I’ve written this column in The Davis Enterprise, which has allowed me and many others to write about nonprofits, businesses, lifestyle, arts, climate, culture, and more, for decades.

27th Annual City of Davis MLK Celebration is Virtual on Monday, Jan. 18th at 9 a.m.

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The City of Davis will honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a virtual celebration including highlights of speakers and entertainment from past years recorded and archived by Davis Media Access. It also contains current messages from local youth, as well as an introduction from Mayor Gloria Partida. It first airs at 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, via the City of Davis website at www.cityofdavis.org where it will be available through the end of the month.

Thank you to our 2020-2021 Supporters

During this time of COVID-19, DMA is proud to say we grew community during a time of separation. This is work we share with you, and we want you to know your support matters. Donations—whether by individuals, events, local businesses, or donor-advised foundations—keep KDRT on the air, and help support DMA's work on local elections and youth media services. This list includes donors from July 1, 2020 to now. We thank you!

$1,000 & Above

Craig & Darien Blomberg

Jessica Kelly Includes a volunteer match by Cisco

Alison Kent & Allan Hollander Via Car Donation

Richard Krogsrud and Rebecca Ryland Via Car Donation

Anthony Roy Via Car Donation

Sunny Shine

$500-$999

Clyde Bowman

Shelley Bronzan In Honor of Matthew Bronzan (includes car donation)

Nancy Flagg

Marie Graham In Honor of "Praise Time with Preacher"

Don and Julie Saylor

Sharmila Shinde Via a Car Donation

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KDRT Highlights

Thanks for supporting the KDRT spring FUNdraiser!

We can't thank you enough for contributing to our Spring FUNdraiser!

As a non-commercial community station, we depend on our volunteers and donors to bring you the local sounds you love.

We also send thanks to local heroes Armadillo Music and The Big Poppies for their steadfast support.

If you haven't had a chance to donate yet, of course there's still time: KDRT.org/donate!

Davisville, May 12, 2025: Davis faces choice between more homes, fewer schools

The Davis school district might have to close up to three public schools over the next decade for reasons that include declining birth rates, high housing costs, and changing job patterns. Adding more homes for families in Davis could blunt that trend, but Davis voters generally resist population growth. So, people in Davis need to start talking about what they want to do, while there's still time to plan for the change. Matt Best, superintendent of the Davis public school district, discusses the choice this week on Davisville.

Divine Compost Heap – May 9, 2025

Coming to you live from the new KDRT broadcast booth, it’s double trouble with Jess Goddésse *&* Dug Deep, bringing you a divine version of the Electric Compost Heap, featuring new music, old favorites, and oddities. Tune in at 6 p.m. Pacific on KDRT 95.7 fm + KDRT.org — catch it thereafter on the podcast apps. To support this and other fine programming, please visit kdrt.org/donate. TY!

Ray Keck takes the mic on Listening Lyrics, May 9, 2025

This week on Listening Lyrics, I threw caution to the wind and handed over the keys—well, the playlist—to none other than Ray Keck (pictured), a Davis legend and music maestro in disguise.

Ray didn’t just walk into the studio—he stormed it with a playlist so good, I briefly questioned my own musical taste. (Don’t worry, I recovered.)

And behind the mic? Ray was smoother than a jazz sax solo at midnight. The guy was born for radio—I'm pretty sure his voice came with built-in reverb.

Davis Garden Show, May 8, 2025