KDHX

St. Louis Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty ordered KDHX leaders to restore the membership status of at least some of the 120 volunteers they fired last month and allow the volunteers to participate in a meeting that could decide the station's future.

Community radio station KDHX has less than $7,000 in the bank and is actively looking at possibly selling its assets, a station lawyer argued in a court hearing.

KDHX board President Gary Pierson said in a Friday afternoon announcement that the station lacks the resources to continue in its current form.

KDHX critics are suing to remove seven of eight members of the community radio station’s board of directors. It’s the latest dispute in a conflict that has reshaped the station’s on-air schedule and its place in the St. Louis music community.

Community radio station KDHX and a group of station volunteers settled a lawsuit Friday ahead of a trial that was set for Tuesday in St. Louis Circuit Court.

A lawsuit filed Friday asks a judge to force the community radio station to release many of its records, including financial documents and board communication.

"It is time for new leadership, leadership that is truly connected to the community, that listens to the community, and that inspires the trust of the community," the musicians wrote in their open letter. "It is time to return the exiled DJs to the air."

More than 90 business owners — including owners of STL Style, Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., The Gramophone and Crown Candy — are calling for the station to return dismissed former DJs to their positions and give volunteers more of a say in how the station runs.

St. Louis arts saw a lot of change in 2023, with new music venues and festivals, attendance struggles for theaters and an embattled community radio station seeing a DJ revolt. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin and Chad Davis recap trends from the year in the arts.

A group of unhappy KDHX listeners and former DJs asked a court to recognize the results of a vote by volunteers to add three new members to the station’s board and remove two of its current members.