ST. LOUIS — Embattled community radio KDHX station is no more.
On the station’s website Wednesday, the nonprofit organization that owned it, Double Helix Corp., announced that the 37-year-old station “has ceased operations.”
In a newsletter sent out to subscribers, the corporation also said it would not be producing any programs until late 2026 or early 2027.
The announcements appear to contradict information board president Gary A. Pierson gave the Post-Dispatch earlier this week.
On Monday, Pierson said the station — which has been off the air for more than a month — would resume broadcasting and live-streaming before it is sold to Gateway Creative Broadcasting.
Station representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
That sale is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Pierson said Monday he could not speculate on when the sale would go through, especially considering the current government shutdown.
Double Helix filed for bankruptcy in March, 18 months after it lost a significant amount of community financial support. In September 2023, it fired 10 of its 80 volunteer DJs, a month after it had fired two others. At least 14 more left the station to protest the firings.
In May, it agreed to sell its frequency and broadcast license to the Christian-music broadcaster Gateway, which also owns 99.1 FM Joy and Boost radio, for $8.75 million.
Throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, KDHX indicated that it would continue to broadcast and livestream music content until the sale was completed. It played music from shows it had previously broadcast — but not the disc jockeys — until the end of August.
Since then it has been silent, with the station’s website citing technical difficulties as the reason.
On Monday, Pierson declined to identify what those difficulties were.
“There was some technical stuff that had to be addressed that wasn’t able to happen while we were on the air,” he said.
Part of the agreement to sell the frequency and license to Gateway required KDHX to “conduct its business in the ordinary course” until the sale goes through.
A representative for Gateway could not be reached to learn whether shutting the station entirely would affect the sale.
Last week, KDHX asked the FCC to change its call letters to KLJT as of Wednesday. That identification is similar to 99.1 Joy’s call letters of KLJY.
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Daniel Neman | Post-Dispatch
Features writer
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