Iowa Public Broadcasters Request Funding from Gov. Reynolds

In lieu of President Donald Trump and Congress cancelling $9 million in public broadcasting funding, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting winding down operations, the Iowa Public Broadcasters Board is asking Governor Kim Reynolds to approve funding for the fiscal year 2027.

Per KCCI, the request is for $3 million in funding that would help cover the cost of new transmitters in Waterloo and Sioux City. This is to help offset Trump and Congress' latest round of cuts that have put public broadcasters all across the country in an unenviable bind.

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This is a situation not unique to Iowa. Public broadcasters in all 50 states are likely to appeal to their governors and state legislators in order to secure money to continue operations. Specifically, however, Iowa Public Broadcasters Board is reportedly mulling over the possibility of charging for meet-and-greet events:

I guess I look at it at this point — if we could raise another $25,000 to $50,000 a year, that means maybe an employee stays on or maybe some project continues to be funded that we can film that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. That’s all. And I realize it’s not going to be $3.5 million by any stretch - Iowa Public Broadcasting Board President Kevin W. Krause, per KCRG

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Even PBS, the company synonymous with public broadcasting, cut over 20% of its budget in order to stay afloat. The fight for public broadcasting to continue its operations continues, and now the ball is in Governor Kim Reynolds' court to provide some level of assistance on the homefront.

Read more on KCCI's website.