Coppermine (Aug 11/03) - From rock to country to jazz to celtic music, Kugluktuk's newest radio station is aiming to please.

Ron Tologanak - "The station has been in the works for about a year."

"It's music for all tastes," said Ron Tologanak, recreation director, and volunteer at the station. "Actually our band did a couple of jingles for them," he said as he started to sing one of them.

The station, simply called Kugluktuk Radio, is located at 88.7 FM, and runs 24 hours a day seven days a week.

The project was launched by Mike Webster, Tologanak said.

The community now has three stations to choose from, including Inuvik CBC 105.1 FM, and Eastern Arctic CBC (Rankin, Iqaluit) at 101.9 FM.

The station has been in the works for about a year, Tologanak said.

"It's going to get bigger and better as we go along," he said.

"We're just working out all the computers, all the little things we have to do," he said. "Sooner or later we'll into commercials and advertisements for local businesses."

Clara Avakana, an office worker and cashier at the Co-op in Kugluktuk, thinks the station, with both English and Inuktitut announcements sprinkled between the tunes, will catch on with locals.

"I think it's good to have another (station)," she said. "That way we can give out our messages and requests."

Avakana was approached by radio station staff recently and asked to lend her voice to a promotional ad for the station.

"They went around for a while talking to local people," she said. "Asking to say a few things for the radio, like, 'Hi, I'm Clara Avakana from Kugluktuk, and you're listening to your local radio station, 88.7."

She didn't mind doing that, but she didn't think she sounded too good.

"I was pretty tired and I had just gotten off work and was doing some shopping here."