Jim Baum Memorial Highway Signs Unveiled

posted on 4.04.2022

The State of Texas has honored longtime Mitchell County broadcaster Jim Baum with the designation of Business Interstate Highway 20-J within the city limits of his beloved Colorado City as the James G. "Jim" Baum Memorial Highway.

Signs denoting the memorial designation were unveiled last week in a ceremony with St. Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, Baum’s widow Linda, and two of Baum’s three children in attendance.

Burrows and St. Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, carried the legislation designating the stretch of memorial highway, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Austin, on May 24, 2021.

Baum, the longtime owner-operator of KVMC-AM and KAUM-FM, both in Colorado City, passed away Dec. 16, 2018, after a battle with leukemia.

The stations, still TAB members, were sold to new owner Pete Garcia and Extreme Media LLC in 2021.

Baum served as Colorado City mayor three times, holding the position for a total of more than 20 years.

After a baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league team ended, Baum began his broadcast career working at stations in Abilene, Midland-Odessa, and Big Spring.

He achieved a lifetime goal of owning his own station when he purchased KVMC-AM (“the Voice of Mitchell County”) in 1980. 

He signed KAUM-FM on the air later that decade.

Baum would go on to serve the community for nearly 40 years as a tireless public servant, reporting the day’s events in his radio newscasts, and leading Colorado City through challenging times as mayor.

He embodied the KVMC call-sign, the “Voice of Mitchell County.”

Baum wrote three books, one of which was a collection of Mitchell County trivia and history.

Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.

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