Judge allows Christian broadcasters to bid on KDHX license and tower

ST. LOUIS — A U.S. bankruptcy court judge ruled Tuesday that two Christian radio broadcasters can bid later this month on the broadcast license and tower of KDHX, the community music radio station that declared bankruptcy in March.

Former KDHX volunteers say they believe they can still prevent the sale of the station but do not plan to outbid the Christian broadcasters, K-Love and Gateway Creative Broadcasting, which have offered millions of dollars for the assets.

Spencer Desai, an attorney representing Gateway, told Current that the broadcaster’s $5.5 million bid is “strong.” Gateway already has two Christian music stations in the St. Louis area.

“I don’t think there is going to be a problem for any of the two bidders that we know of,” Desai said, though he added that the former volunteers can offer an “alternative path of financing.”

According to a court filing, the volunteers aim to block the sale with a “plan of reorganization,” though details were not shared. “We believe it is not in the best interest of Double Helix or the community to sell the license,” Roy Kasten, a spokesperson for the League of Volunteer Enthusiasts (LOVE) of KDHX, told Current.

“A coalition of businesses, civic leaders, music and entertainment leaders, volunteers and donors coming together is going to be successful in presenting a really effective, powerful plan that is going to address all of the financial needs of the corporation,” Kasten added.

The auction is scheduled for May 30, and a hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for June 9.

LOVE of KDHX includes DJs who were fired or who resigned in protest following the 2023 dismissal of host and station co-founder Tom “Papa” Ray. Controversy over the termination of DJs and cancellations of shows prompted many listeners to stop donating to KDHX. Earlier this year, station leaders decided to stop airing new programming.

In a February court filing, an attorney for Double Helix said the organization had less than $7,000 in cash. The station owes more than $2 million to creditors and would use money from the sale to repay them, according to Robert Eggmann, an attorney representing Double Helix in the bankruptcy proceeding.

Double Helix and Gateway had agreed to a $5.2 million transaction in December. But in March, Double Helix announced an agreement to sell its assets to Tennessee-based Christian broadcasting network K-Love for $4.35 million to $4.8 million, depending on how quickly the deal could be completed. Gateway then submitted its bid in court in April. 

Double Helix has used $127,000 of a loan from K-Love, Eggman said in the court hearing Tuesday.

If a bidder besides K-Love purchases the station’s assets, it would have to pay K-Love up to $300,000 in expenses and a breakup fee of 3.5% of the original purchase price, which would amount to $152,000, Judge Kathy Surratt-States ruled.

Members of LOVE hope that the judge will not approve the sale to the winning bidder of the auction and instead allow a sale through the reorganization plan, said Tom DeWoskin, an attorney representing LOVE.

“I don’t think there is an issue as to whether the debt will be paid,” DeWoskin said, who declined to disclose how much money the organization has raised. “The issue is whether we need to sell the license and the tower in order to pay the debts, because the cost of doing it that way is the destruction of the station. Whereas if we’re able to preserve the station, the debt will still get paid.”