After storms came through the St. Louis Metro East communities on April 15, MindsEye’s building was rendered uninhabitable. While the building did not see much damage, a downed radio tower was scattered and strewn across the roof. The initial thought –how will volunteers record programming without access to the recording studio?
Turning a negative into a positive, finding the silver lining, or any other way you want to describe it, the community did it.
With the urgent need for remote-bound volunteers, a call-out was made to the community. News outlets showed up, and pleas were made. In just a few short days, more than 40 applications to volunteer had been submitted, with more still coming in each day.
Programming was sustained thanks to the 27 NEW readers that submitted their work.
So many people offered to help that it actually became a problem – a really, really good problem. The additional help meant MindsEye was “forced” to expand its programming to include several new local news outlets that can’t be accessed anywhere else on the radio. The opportunity to add more programming in the Central Illinois region was also laid at its fingertips.
When it was all said and done, programming was only off-air for a few days to allow for the removal of the tower from the roof. Even then, volunteers were still recording episodes which allowed MindsEye to upload them to streaming platforms.
Now, the building will begin to be used once more. MindsEye staff have started going back into the office and volunteers will be welcomed back this Friday, just after Give STL Day, a day of giving celebrated on Wednesday, May 10th. Veteran volunteers will return to the recording studio to tend to their programming and new volunteers will assist with expanded offerings.
Thank you to the community and our new volunteers for all the support. You’re remarkable.
Click here to read MindsEye’s initial press release.
Click here to read the NPR story on the damage.
Click here to view the KSDK coverage.
Click here to view the FOX 2 coverage.
Post author: Lindy Noel, Photo credit: Mike Curtis