02/13/2025
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS FILE MOTION AND DEMAND KDHX BOARD EXPLAIN QUESTIONABLE TERMINATIONS TO THE COURT THIS WEEK
For immediate release
ST. LOUIS, MO (February 11, 2025)
A motion for a Temporary Restraining Order has been filed against KDHX in the wake of the mass terminations of January 31, 2025.
The motion has been scheduled to be heard by Judge Joan L. Moriarty this Thursday, February 13 in the Mel Carnahan Courthouse. Division 20. 10:30AM.
On January 31, KDHX Executive Director Kelly Wells on behalf of the Board of Directors fired every on-air host, producer and content provider and terminated their Associate Member status, apparently leaving the members of the Board as Associate Members. A group of Associate Members led by Stacy Bernard have requested an emergency hearing before the Court to decide whether the management of KDHX Community Media followed State of Missouri legal requirements in its attempt to purge the nonprofit corporation of its Associate Members.
This same group of Associate Members had filed a civil action against the individual directors of the KDHX Board just two days before the end of month mass terminations. This case asked the court to remove all the directors except Courtney Dowdall (seated as the condition of another civil action against KDHX) for several abuses of their collective authority, including specifically rigging elections. This case is captioned 2522-CC00192 – Stacy Bernard et. al. v. KDHX Corp et al.
In its communication to the volunteers and to the public, KDHX cited financial difficulties as the cause for the firing of its unpaid workforce. While there had been suspicions of fiduciary malfeasance and suggestion of fiscal issues in its legal filings, KDHX had never communicated to its volunteers or the listening public any atypical fundraising problems. The station has now ended live broadcast and is now only transmitting prerecorded and canned playlists. KDHX has since announced that its Annual Associate Membership meeting will take place on February 18 via Zoom. There has also not been any word from KDHX on the five board candidates, including Dowdall, who were nominated by the Associate Members for this year’s annual election previous to the mass terminations.
Volunteers have historically been awarded Associate Membership in the nonprofit organization’s governance based on their contributions and knowledge of the station’s operations and goals. That status has allowed them to elect its nominees to the Board of Directors annually and to vote on any sale or lease of the FM license. However, that legal status has come into question in several court cases filed by other Associate Members unfairly terminated in the past 18 months.
While KDHX’s management has only issued a generic statement by its President Gary Pierson (named in the most recent lawsuit), social media has been awash in stunned commentary by the St. Louis community. An online petition has generated over 2800 signatures since being posted online six days ago.
Interested parties may attend the hearing to be held at the Mel Carnahan Courthouse (1114 Market St, St. Louis, MO 63101). The hearing will be held on February 13 in Division 20, which is located on the 8th floor of the courthouse and is scheduled to begin promptly at 10:30. Courthouse rules ask that attendees wear proper attire and silence their cellphones in the courtroom.
For more information, contact: [email protected].
The League of Volunteer Enthusiasts of KDHX (the L.O.V.E. of KDHX), a non-profit organization, was formed at the end of September 2023 to help the station improve its ability to work with volunteers and to increase its connections to the community it serves. The League is committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and believes KDHX can do a great deal beyond mere talking points to improve in all these areas.
Photo by Sara Finke.
