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It is time that we say “bye-bye Beethoven” in St. Louis. St. Louis’s only classical station, KFUO-FM 99.1 (Classic 99) has

 been sold.

The station’s owners, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, sold it to Joy FM, a Contemporary Christian music station

owned by Gateway Broadcasting, for a reported $26 million, which they don’t currently have but will put a down payment

on while the LCMS holds a “security interest” in the property. The LCMS is financing the sale with a 10-year balloon note

News of a possible sale leaked to the press in March of 2009. Many angry St. Louisians claimed that the sale of the station

would be a heavy blow to the cultural community. The LCMS sent a task force to investigate the two stations (KFUO-FM

and it’s sister station, KFUO-AM, which plays Christian music).

The result came back that the FM station should be sold, but the AM shouldn’t. However, according to some the FM

station was LCMS’s moneymaker, and the AM station borrowed money from Classic 99, which was proven as false because

the LCMS accepted donations and handled out the distribution of wealth between the two.

Something else that upset St. Louisians was the fact that St. Louis has 11 Christian stations and one classical, which has

led some to question what the cultural benefit would be to lose such a cherished piece of St. Louis heritage for yet another 

Christian station. In a recent poll by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 92% (924) said that the deal should not through. 7% (67)

said that it should. Then 2% (17) said that it didn’t matter.

But according to the LCMS, it’s all about the money. They claimed that the classical station got too few advertisements.

Eventually they gave the sale decisions over to Kermit Brashear, a politician/lawyer from Omaha who has a seat on the

LCMS.

Three other radio stations were interested in buying Classic 99. Bonneville (106.5 “The Arch), WIL, and ESPN 101.1

were all competitors, and might’ve kept the classical format. The LCMS quickly stopped dealing with Bonneville because

they’re a Mormon-owned radio station, and because of a want to keep the radio station run by “Christians” they ceased

dealing with them.

There have been many inquiries from other parties and some level of discussion, summing up what Kermit Brashear said

in a private interview, but they soon stopped for either financial reasons or loss of interest. The statement about selling to a

“Christian” organization was challenged by Rev. Dr. Paul Devantier, the Sr. V.P at Concordia Seminary, by saying that

Brashear refused to negotiate with any Lutheran-run companies who wanted to keep the classical format. He also said, “The

church body is making it very easy for (Gateway) to purchase the station, offering to finance it.”

So why was Joy FM so interested in the signal? The radio tower is one of the strongest around (100 kilowatts). That would

allow them to transmit their signal further. However, there’s been talk from within the LCMS of transmitting Classic 99 in

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HD radio format on the 99.1-HD frequency.

The sale is supposed to be finalized in March pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission, however 

opponents of the sale, mainly from within the LCMS and the Circle of Friends (a long time supporter of the station) said

that they’re considering to make appeals to the FCC and making legal challenges to the sale.

The deal could be overturned for three reasons: it would leave the area without a classic music station, it would be

replacing a long standing format with an already existing format that has two stations already, and the sale was conducted

secretly.

However, for now it’s time to say farewell to a 61-year cultural heritage that will likely never be heard again. R.I.P.

Classic 99. We will remember thee.