Operator of St. Louis’ KDHX files for bankruptcy

The nonprofit that operates St. Louis community music station KDHX announced Monday that it is declaring bankruptcy after a sharp decrease in donations spurred by a yearslong dispute between leadership of the station and its volunteers and listeners.

In 2021, Double Helix Corp., which controls the station, generated revenue of $2.7 million, according to an IRS tax filing. In a February court filing, an attorney for the organization said it had less than $7,000 in cash.

“We believe the reorganization is in service to the mission and purpose of Double Helix Corporation, namely to build community through media using the power of music and education to engage and unite individuals and communities,” Gary Pierson, president of Double Helix’s board, said in a news release.

Pierson declined to respond to questions from Current.

Double Helix said it will continue to operate while it negotiates a “restructuring and/or repayment plan” with creditors.

“This is yet another unnecessary and harmful action by the board of directors of Double Helix to put the radio station at grave risk for no clear reason,” said Roy Kasten, a former volunteer host and spokesperson for League of Volunteer Enthusiasts (LOVE) of KDHX, a group of longtime volunteers that has criticized recent actions by management.

Kasten said LOVE will focus on preventing Double Helix from selling KDHX’s broadcast license, which will include ensuring that community members know a sale “is unnecessary and needs to be resisted.”

In January, KDHX dismissed all volunteer DJs and content producers — who were also associate board members — and announced that the station would no longer air new programming. That decision and the bankruptcy are the culmination of the public battle between the station’s board and many KDHX supporters.

The strife began after the dismissal of longtime host and station co-founder Tom “Papa” Ray, who said he was taken off the air for criticizing KDHX Executive Director Kelly Wells. Pierson later said Ray was dismissed because of a “long-standing pattern of bullying.”

Station leaders then canceled 10 more shows and dismissed additional hosts who they said had hurt the station’s financial stability. At least 14 more DJs resigned in protest, and hundreds of volunteers, former hosts, local musicians and business owners signed letters and staged protests outside the station in an effort to oust Wells and Pierson.

There have also been several court battles. In February, a group of former volunteers filed a request for a restraining order that said removing the associate board members violated the organization’s bylaws and was illegal under state law. The volunteers asked the court to order the board to reinstate them as members. A judge issued a temporary restraining order and ruled that the board could not terminate the plaintiffs as associate members.

LOVE members then offered to give $100,000 to the organization if the board agreed to a change in leadership. disclosed recent financial information and agreed not to sell KDHX’s broadcast license.

LOVE also said that if the board agreed to meet to discuss the offer and plan for the organization, it would establish an escrow account and deposit an additional $100,000 that would be transferred to the organization upon finalization of an agreement. KDHX’s board rejected the offer.

“Repeating the problems of the past — with some of the same actors who contributed to KDHX’s current financial situation — will do nothing to save KDHX,” the board said.

Steve St. Cyr, who volunteered at the station from 2013 until he was among those terminated in January, called the bankruptcy announcement “heartbreaking.”

 “There are so many people affected,” he said. “Bands who could go in and play live in studio and also get their gigs promoted by various DJs on the station, they all lost out.”