KDHX settles lawsuit, but critics of leadership question whether change is possible

Leaders of St. Louis community radio station KDHX and several former DJs and volunteers have settled a lawsuit, clearing the way for two of the plaintiffs to join the station’s board.

The parties in the lawsuit announced the settlement last month. In an email to Current, they said they were “dedicated to supporting the mission of KDHX to build community through media moving forward.”

The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in November 2023 following months of conflict between KDHX leadership and volunteers over host changes and the station’s direction. At the time, KDHX’s board had six members, according to their petition, and none had volunteered as a DJ.

KDHX associate members, an official body of volunteers, asked the station’s board to convene a meeting about their right to appoint and remove board members. Board president Gary Pierson declined their requests, but the associate members held a meeting in September 2023 to appoint three new directors — a former DJ, a longtime volunteer and a former DJ and employee — and remove two others. Pierson attended and said only he had the authority to conduct the meeting, according to the lawsuit.

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, the board argued that “the meeting was not held in accordance with the Bylaws, and thus the action taken at the meeting should be found to be void.”

A trial had been scheduled for Aug. 27 in St. Louis Circuit Court. Under the settlement, former DJ Kip Loui and Courtney Dowdall, a longtime volunteer who wrote music reviews for the station’s website, will be appointed to the board.

Dowdall, like the other plaintiffs, declined to comment on the lawsuit or to explain why the parties had settled. But she said she was joining the board with the hope that “folks will be reasonable” and “put the best interests of the station and the community at the forefront.”

However, she said it would be difficult to regain the community’s trust and improve KDHX’s financial situation if Pierson and Executive Director Kelly Wells remain in charge. Many people who could provide “donations and volunteer time” are “waiting for those changes in leadership to happen,” Dowdall said.

In 2022, KDHX received $977,000 in contributions and grants; last year, it took in $808,000, a 17% decrease, according to its most recent tax filing.

KDHX previously had board meetings scheduled for this month and November, but its website now shows only one meeting before the end of the year, set for October. Dowdall said she asked Pierson and Wells why one meeting was canceled and has not received a response.

“It’s a little bit discouraging,” Dowdall said. “The station is in a financial crisis, and it seems to me that that is when you need more board interaction, more board meetings.”

AHC Consulting, a PR firm representing KDHX, did not respond to questions about the settlement or the canceled meetings. It provided a statement from Wells, who said, “Our commitment to bringing the power of music to listeners in STL has never been stronger. KDHX has an enthusiastic team of volunteers who share their love of music  – turning it up for our region and for listeners around the world every day.”

The conflict between Wells and station hosts and volunteers began in February 2023 when Wells and Pierson dismissed longtime music host and KDHX founder Tom “Papa” Ray. At the time, Ray said he was taken off the air after criticizing Wells. Pierson later said Ray was dismissed because of a “long-standing pattern of bullying, aggression, and harassment.” The station later ended 10 more shows and dismissed the volunteer hosts, who they said had harmed the station’s financial stability.

Dozens of current and former volunteers issued a letter of no confidence calling for Wells’ removal, accusing her of stripping power from volunteers and staff. The volunteers staged protests outside the station, and more than 50 St. Louis business owners signed a statement expressing support for the dismissed hosts. 

Station leaders have responded to the criticism by pointing to the addition of new DJs. The station has added 31 new shows and will launch five more this month, according to AHC Consulting.

Meanwhile, critics of KDHX leadership remain unsatisfied. “There has still been no accountability or any kind of suggestion that there is a problem,” said Andy Coco, who was not part of the lawsuit but was among the fired DJs and worked at the station for two decades. “The idea is that there have been no mistakes made.”