Public radio veteran Jonathan Ahl has joined St. Louis Public Radio as our Rolla-based reporter.
In July 2017, St. Louis Public Radio took over the operation of 88.5 KMST-FM, the public radio station in Rolla. At the time, the station was operated by the Missouri University of Science & Technology. Missouri S&T turned over the operation of the station to St. Louis Public Radio in the aftermath of severe budget cuts that were occurring across the University of Missouri system including the Rolla campus.
For the last six years, Jonathan has been the general manager of Tri-States Public Radio based out of Western Illinois University in Macomb. Previously, he has held positions as a reporter for WCBU and as the news director for Iowa Public Radio and WCBU. He has won numerous awards for his journalism work over the past two decades.
In addition to his work covering mid-Missouri, Jonathan will also be reporting as part of the Harvest Public Media network, a public media collaboration based at KCUR in Kansas City. Jonathan’s news coverage will include general issues and events in the Rolla region, food and agriculture issues as a part of Harvest Public Media, and military and veterans issues. He began work for the station on Thursday, Nov. 1.
"We're very excited to have Jonathan on board. Not only are we glad to have someone on the ground in Rolla, serving the community there, but we are also eager to be full participants in Harvest Public Media," said Shula Neuman, executive editor.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanAhl.