A new Christian radio station will debut on 88.1 FM in January. The new station will be known as 88.1 Worship One, with call letters KLJT.
For about two months the 88.1 FM frequency, which is designated by the FCC for nonprofit and community use, has been in Top 40 purgatory — temporarily carrying a simulcast of 95.5 Jams after previous operator KDHX formally ceased operations in September.
Double Helix, the nonprofit corporation behind KDHX, had been broadcasting prerecorded content since late January. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and put KDHX’s broadcast license on sale to settle $2 million in debt.
In June, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kathy Surratt-States approved a sale to Gateway Creative Media, operator of local Christian stations 99.1 Joy FM and Boost 95.5.
Brett Hager, an afternoon radio host in Michigan, will be assistant program director and morning host for 88.1 Worship One. Jeremy Louis, program director for 99.1 Joy FM, will perform the same role for the new station.
Volunteers launched KDHX in 1987, and its schedule grew to include dozens of obsessively curated specialty shows, many with DJs who kept their weekly on-air appointment with listeners for decades. The station also hosted live performances in its Grand Center studio, provided folk music lessons and was a vital forum for local musicians and venue owners.
A group of former KDHX DJs and volunteers plan to launch an internet radio station, in the eclectic style of KDHX, possibly as early as December. The new venture is headquartered at Lindenwood Park Place in St. Louis.
