As a grain farmer, Shane Milkovich is no stranger to long days. It’s on those 16-hour combine marathons that he’s especially grateful for CKUA.
“I always have it on,” he says. ‘I just love it.”
He discovered CKUA around 15 years ago. “I was young, listening to it, and I didn’t really have the money at the time to donate. I’d donate some but now a guy’s doing alright I try to donate a bit more when I can.”
Milkovich is, indeed, a generous donor. He says it’s important for him, as a listener, to support CKUA. He mentions the other streaming services that all charge a fee.
“We’re paying for everything else. Everything has a cost and I try to do as much as I can. If we lost CKUA it’d be a disaster. We all owe it to chip in.”
The music inspires him, he says. “It broadens your mind to different types of music. I’m always looking up songs, like ‘what the heck is this? I’ve never heard of it, ever.’”
The CKUA community also inspires him. “How hard everybody’s working to gain their goals and keep the radio alive is very inspiring, it’s very exciting to see.”
Seeing listeners rise to the occasion during the Spring Fundraiser was also energizing, he says. “It was scary the last time and it was exciting to see how everybody came together, to try to keep something like that alive.”
The music, too, of course, helps keep him going on those long farm days.
“It’s the different types of music CKUA plays, the local talent, it keeps the local talent alive,” Milkovich says. He appreciates that CKUA plays songs by his neighbour’s band, Sofa Gnomes. Then he laughs, “Well, they’re in Wanham. We call anyone within 20 miles a neighbour.”
Milkovich lives with his wife Meagan and their two young children on their grain farm near Rycroft. It’s been in the family since 1916.
Beyond farming, “we have two small children so we’re pretty busy but we like to get out on a boat or go camping or biking. Sledding in the winter,” he says.
With, of course, CKUA as the soundtrack whenever possible.
Thank you, Shane! Your generosity inspires us. If you didn’t get the chance to donate during our Fall Fundraiser, it’s never too late. Check out ckua.com/donate. Your investment keeps CKUA going.
“September Fields” by Frazey Ford. “It’s one of my favourite songs,” says Milkovich, “and I was introduced to it by CKUA.”