The disappearance of KDHX-FM in 2025 was a staggering loss for community radio fans in St. Louis. But local audiophiles are saying that all is not lost — and that will become apparent at noon on Sunday, Feb. 1.
That’s when Community Radio St. Louis will begin commercial-free webcasting via the internet. Those behind the new CRSTL hope it will revive a grassroots cultural voice silenced by a radio frequency sale and demise of KDHX-FM.
“We have a new home at Lindenwood Park Place and we will be a new, online presence,” said Jean Ponzi, a CRSTL spokesperson known for her “Earthworms” nature and environment show on the old KDHX. “This is the work of people who have moved beyond our hurt, our disappointment, our anger, and our feeling of betrayal — and we have transformed all that into a phoenix of new community radio.”
The CRSTL 24-7 flow of music shows will reconnect listeners to familiar KDHX personalities as well as new talent. Calendars, reviews and commentary will spotlight area performing arts, history, ecology and more.
“We’re coming to a place where we are re-purposed, recycled, revitalized, and it’s entirely what nature does with compost. There’s no waste,” said Ponzi, a St. Louis resident. “You take the parts that have been disintegrated and you re-integrate them. That’s what we’re doing.”
KDHX was dissolved by the board of directors of its parent company, Double Helix in 2025 amid much-publicized bankruptcy proceedings. Directors sold the radio station, 88.1 FM, to the Christian broadcasting conglomerate Gateway Creative Broadcasting for $8.75 million.
Directors of the new 501c3 nonprofit League of Volunteer Enthusiasts say they are dedicated to filling the hole left in the hearts of listeners. The organization will operate Community Radio St. Louis.
LOVE has built accessible broadcast and live performance studios at Lindenwood Park Place in St. Louis. CRSTL adds a unique use to this community event space created by owners of what was formerly a church.
CRSTL Volunteers League
Community Radio St. Louis is led and programmed entirely by volunteers, many of whom were longtime contributors to KDHX. The station founded in 1987 at 88.1 FM had counterculture, free-form appeal.
Fred Gumaer was a presence at KDHX and is now a notable force in the new League Of Volunteer Enthusiasts, the non-profit organization behind CRSTL. Gumaer did a classic country program, “Midday Jamboree,” at KDHX and it will return on CRSTL.
“I came to St. Louis from Texas, where I was playing music with the Austin Lounge Lizards,” said Gumaer. “I’ve been living in Webster Groves for 40 years now and raised two kids here with my late wife.
“I was really excited to start the ‘Jamboree’ radio show on KDHX in 1991, but I knew not to quit my day job at Breckenridge Material Company in Webster,“ laughed Gumaer. “It’s exciting to start the show again now.”
Gumaer said troubles for the old KDHX began when it moved from its Magnolia Avenue headquarters in South St. Louis to an over-sized location in the Grand Avenue Arts District. He also said the station’s directors were neither transparent, nor democratic in their decision-making.
Gumaer noted that close to 70 volunteers, who once powered the KDHX airwaves, will be returning to Community Radio St. Louis. He said they will tap into new technology to quickly and affordably restore their lost voice.
Return to FM Radio?
“We’re fortunate that we have today’s communication platforms,” LOVE Co-chair Rich Reese concurred. “We made the decision to start online. But LOVE is committed to restoring conventional radio service by securing another FM frequency as soon as possible.”
For the new CRST, St. Louis resident Reese will reboot his eclectic ‘60s rock show “Pop! The Beat Bubble Burst” on Thursdays 10 a.m. to noon.
When KDHX was dissolved in 2025, dozens of longtime DJs were lost from the air. Now, many have a new home. Popular folk programs like “No Time to Tarry Here” with Pablo Meshuggi and “Family Reunion” with Judy Stein are returning.
Also returning are shows by hip-hop & R&B DJs BIKO fka Needles and DJ Whiz, with “Vibes & Stuff” and “The Bridge” respectively. Art Dwyer, bassist for the Soulard Blues Band, will return for his Friday drivetime show “Blues in the Night.”
“Collectively, our group brings many decades of radio experience to this work,” said blues musician and historian Ron Edwards, whose original KDHX show “Nothin’ But The Blues” will resume its 37-year Sunday evening spot at 8 p.m. on CRSTL.
“We’re professionals from many fields who know and love music and local culture. We’re volunteers committed to work through conflicts and deliver on shared passions, giving our best through radio.”
Edwards of St. Louis is one of nine community radio contributors honored in the St. Louis Media Foundation’s Radio Hall of Fame.
The first sounds from CRSTL, noon to 2 p.m. on Feb. 1, will revive another vital KDHX service: supporting musicians with live in-studio performance. Longtime bluegrass boosters Walter and Willa Volz will host local bluegrass band Barnum Jack as their new program, “The Snappy Lunch.”
View the full program schedule for Community Radio St. Louis below or online at CRSTL.FM. A mobile app is in development.
Don Corrigan is former editor of the Webster-Kirkwood Times and emeritus professor at Webster College.
