The mission is to serve groups that are underrepresented on other local radio stations and to provide access to the airwaves for people who have unconventional or controversial tastes and points of view.

It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 26,500 watts, with its transmitter on SW Fairmont Court on Portland's West Hills.

They approached Lorenzo Milam, a former volunteer at Pacifica Radio's KPFA in Berkeley, who helped start KRAB, a now-defunct community station in Seattle.

In time, Milam helped several other communities start their stations, including KCHU, WAIF, WORT, KDNA, KTAO, and KUSP.

Milam asked KRAB volunteer David Calhoun if he'd be willing to help organize the new station in Portland.

Calhoun, an ex-monk and third-year medical student, packed his VW with a transmitter from Seattle and moved south.

A diverse mix of about thirty volunteers came together to help out, including society women, movement radicals, professional broadcast engineers, and musicians.

Initially, KBOO was on the air when volunteers were available to flip a switch and activate the repeater signal from KRAB.

Walls of the makeshift studios were lined with egg cartons for sound insulation, and all employees shared just two desks.

The station moved again, in 1977, to SW Yamhill Street, and soon expanded broadcasting to 24 hours a day on a regularly scheduled basis.

KBOO found its present location at 20 SE 8th Avenue (the little Robin's egg blue building half a block south of East Burnside Street behind the Jupiter Hotel and Doug Fir Lounge).

In the early 1990s, KBOO set up translators in Corvallis (broadcasting at 100.7 FM) and in White Salmon, Washington (broadcasting at 91.9 FM), allowing KBOO's signal to be received from the very northern tip of Eugene to The Dalles, on a good day.

In the summer of 1991, KBOO moved its transmitter to a new location on the 600-foot (180 m) KGON tower (also known as Stonehenge)[5] on Portland's West Hills.

He pulled over to use a pay-phone to call and make a $10,000 pledge, which he says he did using the credit card of Atco Records president Herb Abramson.

KBOO offers a mix of music and entertainment programs along with public affairs shows which are informative and sometimes controversial.

Public affairs programs include: Old Mole Variety Hour, Voices For The Animals, Prison Pipeline, Art Focus, Film at 11, Locus Focus, The Dirtbag, The Bike Show and Rose City Native Radio.

Music shows include: Roots of Rock and Roll, Jazz in the Afternoon, Rise When The Rooster Crows, Dr. Zomb’s Stereo Obscura, Spark Plug, Parsing Sound and Boogie Pachanguero.

The conference was held July 24–27, 2008, at Portland State University's Native American Student and Community Center.