Initial planning meetings included very diverse input from ethnic groups and a wide variety of non-profit organizations in Spokane. In 2000, Thin Air became a formal project of Citizens for Clean Air, a non-profit with more than ten years of service in the community.

Thin Air was built almost entirely by hundreds of volunteers donating thousands of hours, and nearly $40,000 in donations (primarily from individuals). In the summer and early fall of 2003, we raised more than 100 Founding Members in the community at $100 each. We began soliciting program proposals from Spokane residents, emphasizing our mission of providing a platform for neglected voices and music.

After waiting nearly two years to receive the permit from the FCC, it took only eight months to build the station. This involved preparing the tower site, erecting the 120-foot tower with partially donated local union labor, wiring the studio and transmitter sites, training program hosts, filing permits and paying fees.

We began broadcasting as targeted on October 26 th, 2003 with a dozen live programs hosted by volunteers from the community. In our short time on-the-air, our hard-working volunteers have trained dozens of volunteer programmers, and we now have more than 25 live, locally produced shows on-the-air. These shows cover a variety of social issues and cultural interests. We are proud that we have successfully created a forum for discussion and expression by and for those typically left out of the mainstream media.