A much loved rock radio host with Columbia ties will soon be inducted into the Illinois State University Broadcast Hall of Fame, an achievement she’s found to be quite the honor even amid a staggeringly successful career on the air in St. Louis.

Lauren “Lern” Elwell has been gracing radios throughout the St. Louis area for nearly 20 years, becoming quite popular among fans of KSHE 95 and its sister station 105.7 The Point.

Though born and raised in West Frankfort, Elwell found herself in Columbia in 1998, attending middle school and high school in the community. She’s since come to claim St. Louis as her home.

Her journey into the world of radio was hardly a straight shot. She recalled having a distinct passion for journalism in high school, with a teacher who did much to nurture that passion as she did plenty of personal writing on top of writing for local papers.

Elwell said she always had a particular interest in storytelling.

Attending Southwestern Illinois College for undergraduate general studies, she experienced a substantially less-nurturing environment where she tried to learn more about journalism.

Though she considered a transfer into psychology for a time, a chance encounter instead sent her toward broadcast entertainment.

“I was on a trip, and I just so happened to overhear somebody say that this other person should go into radio broadcasting, and this big light went off in my head,” Elwell said. “I’ve always loved music, I had a DJ business when I was in college just to make extra money. I was like, ‘Wait, I love music, I love storytelling, I love psychology, I have a personality. I should go into radio.’”

Then studying mass communications, she transferred to Illinois State in 2005. Elwell said this was one of the best decisions she’s ever made thanks to the incredible program and the chance she had to work alongside her peers at the college’s campus station WZND.

Beyond the student-run station, Elwell spoke about her early experience at WBBE in Bloomington, where she worked as a swing disc jockey on weekends.

Graduating in December 2007, she moved back home and had little luck applying to all the radio stations she could.

It was John Ulett, longtime St. Louis Cardinals public address announcer and familiar voice on KSHE for decades, who helped get Elwell her big break after she reached out thanks to a family connection.

She started at KSHE in 2008, working in the promotions department for some time until she returned to the air.

Elwell spent a few years filling in for full-time hosts when they went on vacation, but it was in 2012 that KSHE’s Rick Balis brought her and Ulett together to replace a longtime syndicated show.

“John, the man who helped me get in the damn door, he and I were hosting the KSHE Morning Rock Show,” Elwell said. “That was my true big break where it was full-time… We did that for eight years.”

Elwell spent plenty of time hosting from then on, with the morning show running from 6-10 a.m. and a midday show going from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Starting in 2020, she stepped out on her own to host KSHE’s Afternoon Drive, Guy Favazza trading places with her.

Shortly after, Elwell also began hosting and programming KSHE’s Monday Night Metal show, wrapping up in 2024 – though she still helps program that show.

In 2023, Elwell joined up with The Rizzuto Show on The Point for a three-year contract, invited by Tommy Mattern.

In 2024, KSHE reeled her back in as a midday host, with Elwell now hosting on The Point from 6-10 a.m. before taking a long walk down the hall to KSHE from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

All of this amounts to an 18-year career with KSHE and four years with The Point.

Elwell is also an artist herself. She sings in a cover band called Lane Narrows and described the rush that comes from performing.

She expressed ample pride for the role she’s come to have on the stations she grew up with herself, describing the vital role area radio has played in rock both in St. Louis and nationally.

“One of the best things about St. Louis is that we have this legendary radio station that is here still, and it’s remained practically untouched in its format,” Elwell said. “That gave me a lot of pride, that I got to work at these legendary call letters with all these legendary people.”

She further spoke to the community and reputation that surrounds KSHE in particular, remarking on the hit of pride she gets seeing folks with KSHE bumper stickers.

“My passion continues through hearing these stories, learning even more about rock history, being part of a very elite club – in my opinion – of people that get to rock at a rock-and-roll heritage radio station,” Elwell said. “That, to me, will always be cool. I still get very humbled by, ‘Oh my god, I get to work at these stations that I grew up with.’”

Another element of her career, Elwell touched on her role as a woman in an industry long dominated by men.

She spoke about how satisfying it is to see female fans of hers at station events, and she further voiced hope that she’s helped other women become as confident and vocal as she’s come to be.

Elwell also discussed the place radio has in today’s entertainment industry, as radio stations have faced new competition against massive streaming services.

She argued that radio has done plenty to modernize and absolutely still has its audience, with folks simply enjoying shows in different formats on different platforms.

“I don’t think radio gets enough credit for adapting to the competition that we have been put up against,” Elwell said. “We have podcasts. We have taken our most successful shows on our radio stations and repurposed them into podcasts – essentially hand-in-hand into Spotify, Apple, YouTube. We have started to bleed into that realm to acclimate.”

With a tremendous career joining countless beloved names in rock radio, being recognized by her alma mater is just one more honor for Elwell – though she was quite humble about it.

Earning a plaque in the Illinois State University Broadcast Hall of Fame, she said, makes her feel like she’ll really be remembered.

“I’m so nerdy about it,” Elwell said. “I’m so honored to go in. My time at Illinois State meant everything to me. I got so much out of my education there. Some of my happiest years of my life were being in college at that university and particularly working at the campus station with all my friends.”