The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports in this article that Rich Bircumshaw, news director of KCOL radio and the official voice of the Colorado State University Rams, was hospitalized after suffering a stroke yesterday -- and unfortunately, he was unable to recover. A spokeswoman for KCOL, a Clear Channel property, confirms that Bircumshaw died during the night. This morning, the station is airing tributes to the 54-year-old broadcaster, who took the CSU post earlier this decade prior to a stint at the Wyoming Radio Network.
In a bizarre bit of timing, the Clear Channel Denver news department announced this week that it will be handling the news programming at stations in numerous Colorado and out-of-state locales, Fort Collins among them. Look for more details about that in an upcoming blog. In the meantime, send good thoughts to Bircumshaw's family, friends and fans, of which there were many.