St. Louis: KFNS On-Again, Off-Again..Sale Pursued

After months of turmoil, longtime sports talk station KFNS 590 AM is off the airwaves  -- this time by choice.

Operations Manager Mike Calvin told the St. Louis Business Journal that  a group of investors from the station's parent company, Grand Slam Sports, decided Monday night to discontinue operations and pursue a sale of the station to an unnamed company that would implement a religious format.

KFNS did broadcast for a short time Monday only because investor Dan Marshall — former president of the station — paid the $1,100 Ameren Missouri electric bill to keep the lights and the station's transmitter in operation.

The unpaid utility  bill orignally shuttered the station's signal on Oct. 31.

Calvin said the sale of the station, which is about $580,000 in debt, could be finalized by the end of this week at the earliest, but around Thanksgiving is more likely.

The sale would signal the end of the station, but not its legal troubles.

Grand Slam Sports has faced numerous judgments related to lawsuits. In addition, a police report was filed in June after a fight between Marshall and radio personality Brian McKenna occurred at KFNS's offices.