Congress cut funding for public media. Here's how Minnesota stations are responding

By Meg Martin | Minnesota Journalism Center

Updated: July 24, 2025 @ 12:35 p.m. | Posted: July 23, 2025

[Jump to a list of Minnesota stations with CPB funding]

Last week, the U.S. House and Senate approved President Donald Trump’s request to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding that it had already appropriated for public broadcasting.

In pulling all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years, the lawmakers eliminated a key financial resource for public radio and television stations across the country — particularly those serving rural and tribal audiences.

CPB's president and CEO, Patricia Harrison, said the decision ”will have profound, lasting, negative consequences for every American.” Many stations, she said, will be forced to shut down.

In the 2024 fiscal year, CPB issued more than $17 million in grants to Minnesota public radio and television stations.

Across the state, public media plays an important role in providing access to local news and information, which has been steadily disappearing. According to the Minnesota attorney general’s office, which filed a court brief in support of challenges to an executive order related to the federal funding cuts, MPR News’ signal alone reaches 95 percent of the state’s population. TPT — the Twin Cities PBS station — says it reaches 80% of the state’s population. That’s significant in part because the state’s emergency alert system relies largely on infrastructure and systems maintained by public radio and TV organizations.

The impacts of the cuts could be significant. 

Niijii Radio general manager Maggie Rousu told MPR News that CPB funding accounts for roughly 40 percent of the budget for her station, which serves the White Earth Nation in northern Minnesota.

MinnPost: Trump’s public broadcasting cuts raise risk of radio silence in rural Minnesota
Star Tribune: Federal funding cut could silence tribal, rural radio stations many in Minnesota consider vital

KBFT, a station that serves the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa in north-central Minnesota, depends on CPB funding for about half of its operating budget.

At WTIP in Grand Marais, CPB grants account for about a quarter of the budget, station manager Matthew Brown told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

In an open letter to the community this week, Lakeland PBS CEO Jeff Hanks wrote that the the station has lost $1 million in funding — 37% of its budget — due to the recission.

“The vote may be behind us, but the work is just beginning,” he wrote. “Lakeland PBS is not closing, but significant changes are inevitable without swift and collective action.”

Maps: Explore CPB's StationFinder  | Where Congress’s Cuts Threaten Access to PBS and NPR (The New York Times)

Within a week of the congressional vote, TPT, the Twin Cities' PBS station, had announced a staff reduction of an unspecified number of people. Minnesota Public Radio's parent company, American Public Media Group, soon followed, announcing a 5% to 8% staff layoff and other cost reductions. Both organizations had already announced other cuts — furloughs at TPT and the sale of a popular APMG podcast — earlier this year.

 Many of Minnesota’s stations launched major fundraising and communication pushes over the last few months as cuts loomed. When funding threats became certainties, those efforts ramped up significantly.

After the vote, KAXE sent a note to supporters from Heidi Holtan, the station’s director of content and public affairs, who reflected on what radio has meant in her life.

“KAXE wasn’t and isn’t an exclusive club,” she wrote. “I met people of all ages and walks of life from being there but also just from listening. I felt less alone in my new life up north. I eventually moved to Grand Rapids and got myself hired part-time as a producer and hoped it would become a career. Turns out, I'm still here, unwavering in my belief that rural people need media that reflects and welcomes them. This isn’t AI talking to you. KAXE really changed my life. And I know I'm not alone.”

KFAI’s Nora Doherty posted a call to action on the station’s website, writing, “KFAI will never go gentle into that good night — we will never give up and never stop working for a just and equitable society.”

Minnesota stations with CPB funding

In light of the rescission package’s abrupt changes to so many stations’ funding sources —and because of the role these organizations can play in a community’s information ecosystem — many people are asking how they can help support public media in their own communities and elsewhere around the state.

The Minnesota Journalism Center’s work centers on connecting journalists in the state to training, research, students — and each other. So to help in that effort, we have compiled a list of each of the Minnesota public media organizations that received CPB funding in the 2024 fiscal year, along with information about how to support or follow their work.

KSMQ Public TV  Austin

The Austin-based PBS station has been on the air since 1972, and serves audiences in southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa, in the Rochester-Mason City-Austin television market. 

KSMQ was among the first 50 public media organizations to be chosen for CPB’s Digital Transformation Program at the Poynter Institute.

• How to donate to KSMQ Public TV
• You can also follow KSMQ Public TV on Instagram
• Watch a report on the cuts’ impacts ‘We are here to stay’: KSMQ-TV asks for viewers’ support after federal funding cut (KTTC)

Lakeland PBS  Bemidji

With studios in Brainerd and Bemidji, Lakeland PBS serves most of north-central Minnesota’s lakes region. 

The station says its signal reaches nearly 400,000 people, from Little Falls to the Canadian border, including the Red Lake Nation and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. It has been in operation for 45 years, and produces local programming focused on rural northern Minnesota. 

Lakeland PBS recently went solar, installing a solar power array at its Bemidji headquarters. It runs a live camera from the tower on top of its Bemidji studio.

In June, Lakeland PBS joined PBS’ national organization in a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive order that led to the funding cuts.

• How to donate to Lakeland PBS
• You can subscribe to Lakeland PBS’ newsletter (scroll to the bottom of the page)
• Add Lakeland PBS Originals to your watching queue
• Hear Lakeland PBS CEO Jeff Hanks discuss the implications of funding cuts
• Read more Minnesota public TV station leads fight against Trump executive order to defund public media (MPR News)
• See A message from Jeff Hanks

Niijii Radio  Callaway

Niijii Radio has served the White Earth Nation since 2008. “We are one of four native Anishinaabe community radio stations in our region,” the station writes, “but we are unique in that we are the only one independent of tribal government and control. This was a conscious choice, so that the people in the Anishinaabe community understand that we are truly independent, and therefore also able to highlight tribal concerns and issues on our reservation.” 

The nonprofit White Earth Land Recovery Project holds the station’s license. Niijii Radio, call letters KKWE, produces several shows, including Talking with Terry, AlterNative with Crazy Wolf and Gerry’s V.I.P. show. 

The station is planning a live broadcast from Ogema Days on Aug. 30.

• How to donate to KKWE via the White Earth Land Recovery Project
• You can also your support with Niijii Radio swag
• Follow Niijii Radio on Facebook
• Read about Niijii Radio’s backstory Niijii Radio rises ‘out of the ashes’ to serve White Earth, nearby communities (The Forum via Circle News)
• Listen for more Minnesota's tribal radio stations could lose half their funding under CPB cuts (MPR News)

KOJB 90.1 The Eagle  Cass Lake

The Eagle is a tribal radio station that broadcasts out of Cass Lake, and serves the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s north-central Minnesota reservation and surrounding communities. 

Its cornerstone program, The Rez Morning Show with Marie Rock, airs weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

The station airs a mix of cultural, music, Ojibwe language and news programming, including the national call-in show Native America Calling, National Native News and afternoon Pow Wow and Round Dance music segments every day.

• How to support KOJB through underwriting

PBS North (WDSE)  Duluth

This PBS station went on the air in 1964, and serves the Duluth metro area, across northeastern Minnesota and into northwestern Wisconsin. 

The station’s offerings — which include local shows like The Slice, Minnesota Historia and Almanac North — have since expanded to include the Cardinal Learning Hub, a collaborative children’s programming project and The North 103.3 radio station.

• How to donate to PBS North
• You can also sign up for PBS North’s newsletters
• Dive into PBS North documentaries

The North 103.3 FM Duluth

WDSE owns the license for The North community radio station in Duluth. The station’s signature morning show, Northland Morning, kicks off its local programming day from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. The show weaves music, art, news, cultural programming and community updates. 

The North airs other music and community programming, including Duluth City Council meetings and performances of the North Shore Radio Theatre.

• How to become a member of The North 103.3 FM
• You can also subscribe to The North’s monthly newsletter

WTIP North Shore Community Radio  Grand Marais

WTIP —Cook County Community Radio — says it is the oldest community radio station broadcasting on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It has been keeping listeners connected to the North Shore community since 1998, and its signal reaches from Two Harbors, up the Gunflint trail to Thunder Bay, Ontario and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Like many community stations, WTIP is deeply embedded in the fabric of the region and is powered by a small team of staff and volunteer hosts — including a news team of three reporters. Its signature morning show, North Shore Morning, airs from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and includes a Saturday morning recap. The North Shore News Hour airs weekdays at noon and 5 p.m. 

The station has been tracking the rescission process this year, with regular updates to the community. 

WTIP was among the inaugural group of participants in CPB’s Digital Transformation Project at the Poynter Institute in 2024.

• How to become a member of WTIP North Shore Community Radio
• You can also show your support with WTIP gear
• Or sign up for WTIP’s twice-weekly newsletter

KAXE/KBXE Northern Community Radio  Grand Rapids

If WTIP claims the title of oldest community radio station on the North Shore, KAXE/KBXE claims the title of oldest rural community radio station in the U.S. But it wasn’t an easy launch, in the station’s own telling: “[CPB] hesitated early on. The concern was that public radio would not appeal to rural people. They said KAXE would be broadcasting to a bunch of gophers. Boy, have we proven them wrong.” 

These days, KAXE’s signature Morning Show airs weekday mornings from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m. (Including the What’s for Breakfast? segment every Friday.) Its lake-staple quiz show, Green Cheese, airs every Saturday evening and John Latimer’s Phenology Report is celebrating its 40th year. 

The station has expanded its music and programming to include a growing news team in 2023, and with it the Up North Report podcast. It recently launched a new cooking show and podcast with local James Beard Award-winning chef Amy Thielen.

• How to become a member of KAXE/KBXE
• You can also rep Northern Community Radio with KAXE/KBXE gear
• Or follow along by subscribing to KAXE’s newsletters
• Learn about the station’s origins KAXE founders Rich and Suzi McClear reflect on the station's roots, future

Pioneer PBS  Granite Falls

This western Minnesota television station covers a huge region, including 45 Minnesota counties and portions of northern Iowa and the eastern Dakotas. 

Pioneer PBS has been in operation since the early days of public television, launching in Appleton in 1966 — a full three years before the Public Broadcasting Service was founded. 

The station’s headquarters is now in Granite Falls, but maintains towers in Worthington, Appleton and Fergus Falls. Before the funding cuts were announced, Pioneer PBS general manager Shari Lamke estimated that CPB funding makes up about a third of the organization’s budget. 

The station produces several local programs, including its signature Postcards show, an award-winning series that has been featured at national and international film festivals.

• How to become a member of Pioneer PBS
• Watch Postcards on YouTube
• You can follow along with Pioneer PBS newsletters
• Hear Pioneer PBS general manager Shari Lamke discuss potential impacts of the funding loss (MPR News)
• Read about proposed impacts of the funding cuts Proud of being a voice for region, Pioneer PBS now asks supporters to speak up (West Central Tribune)

Jazz88 FM  Minneapolis

KBEM is a full-time jazz station based in the Twin Cities — and a financially independent project of the Minneapolis Public Schools. It was founded in 1970, and more than a decade later moved to the city’s North High School, where it’s still based today.

Students contribute to Jazz88’s Jazz with Class programming, which features news, weather and traffic — and the station’s School News segment, which features reports from students across the district, from kindergarten through 12th grade. 

Outside of its school programming, Jazz88 has built a loyal following of music lovers with its 24/7 jazz format. Station manager Johnny Lee Walker told the Pioneer Press that CPB funding accounts for about a tenth of the station’s operating budget.

• How to become a member of Jazz88
• How to donate to Jazz88’s student scholarships and support funds
• You can also Follow along in the Jazz88 newsletter
• Or support the station with Jazz88 merch
• Hear about the impact of Jazz88 Keeping jazz alive: The impact of JAZZ88 in Minnesota (MPR News)

KFAI  Minneapolis

KFAI has built a reputation for its broad range of community-focused programming, powered largely through volunteer hosts and contributors who produce music, news and cultural shows in English, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, Spanish and Vietnamese. 

It’s built a reputation among audio producers in the Twin Cities as a storytelling powerhouse with its flagship MinneCulture program, which is also distributed on PRX. 

“KFAI is a living expression of the Twin Cities,” station manager Nora Doherty told the Pioneer Press, “building bridges, deepening understanding and uplifting people across cultures, neighborhoods and generations.” The station was founded in 1978, and it broadcasts out of Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

• How to donate to KFAI
• You can also represent the station with KFAI T-shirts and sweatshirts
• Or you could sign up to host a garage sale to raise funds for KFAI on Sept. 6

KMOJ  Minneapolis

“The People’s Station” launched in 1976 with support from the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. The idea was that African-American community members would get training as on-air announcers, voicing PSAs, information and news across the programming schedule. In turn, the community would hear itself reflected on the airwaves. 

The station says that its call letters were derived from the Swahili word for “unity”: Umoja. 

The station’s focus has broadened since the early days, shifting toward serving communities of color throughout the Twin Cities metro area with news, entertainment, information and hip-hop and R&B music programming. Its Morning Show with Freddie Bell and Chantel Sings, a Twin Cities drive-time staple, airs from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m. every weekday.

• How to donate to KMOJ
• You can show your support with KMOJ gear
• Subscribeto KMOJ’s podcasts
• Hear from a KMOJ legend Scene Maker Q+A: DJ Walter ‘Q Bear’ Banks talks about his pal Prince and George Floyd aftermath (Minnesota Star Tribune)
• Listen to an update from 2022 The 'People's Station' KMOJ pushes forward (MPR News)

KBFT Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio  Nett Lake

The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa owns and operates KBFT, Bois Forte Tribal Community Radio, out of its studio in Nett Lake in northern Minnesota. The station’s signal reaches up to roughly 20 miles from its broadcast tower on the Nett Lake water tower. 

KBFT's programming is focused on a mix of news, language, culture and music for the Bois Forte and surrounding community. It airs a combination of local programming — like Rez Rockin’ Radio, hosted by station manager George Strong (aka Rez Boy) and the Finally Awake show with Darren Landgren — and national shows, like Native America Calling and The World from PRX.

• How to donate to KBFT
• You can also show your support with KBFT swag
• Or subscribe to the KBFT newsletter (scroll down on the left rail)
• Understand the impact Loss of public media funding a blow to tribal radio stations (MPR News)

Minnesota Public Radio St. Paul

MPR launched as a classical and news station out of St. John’s University in 1967, a full three years before NPR’s founding. More than half a century later, MPR operates three stations out of its St. Paul headquarters: The Current, YourClassical and MPR News. 

Its parent company, American Public Media Group, also runs Southern California Public Radio/LAist and produces Marketplace, The Splendid Table and Classical24. 

APMG's American Public Media also distributes programming to radio stations across the country, with The New York Times’ The Daily, WBUR’s On Point and the BBC World Service in its roster. Its APM Studios produces and distributes original audio shows, including The Slowdown poetry show, One Recipe with Jesse Sparks and Don’t Ask Tig. 

An APM spokesperson told the Pioneer Press: “Between state and federal funding sources, MPR is facing a loss of more than $6 million this fiscal year, about 6.5 percent of our budget. We have already begun a comprehensive review of our expense structure to find cost-saving solutions.” 

American Public Media Group announced layoffs — cuts to 5% to 8% of staff and other cost reductions — less than a week after the House's final vote. Earlier this summer, American Public Media announced it was selling the popular BrainsOn! children's podcast, eliminating 15 jobs in the process. The company told MPR News it plans to notify affected employees by mid-August.

• How to become a member of Minnesota Public Radio
• You can also subscribe to MPR newsletters
• Understand the ecosystem MPR says rescission bill will ‘dismantle the public media system as we know it’ (Pioneer Press)
• Listen MPR president responds to threats to public media (MPR News)

The Current St. Paul

The Current music station is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It produces local shows like the drive-time Morning Show with Jill Riley, plus events throughout the Twin Cities. It has launched Carbon Sound, a channel focused on Black musical expression and Radio Heartland, a channel dedicated to folk, roots and Americana.

• How to donate to The Current and Carbon Sound
• You can represent the stations with The Current merch
• Or sign up for the Carbon Sound and The Current newsletters

YourClassical MPR  St. Paul

YourClassical, which powers classical music streams heard on stations across the country, is MPR’s 24/7 classical station, which broadcasts across the state of Minnesota from its headquarters in the state capital. 

It produces several podcasts, including Rhapsody in Black, YourClassical Storytime and YourClassical Adventures for kids and families.

• How to donate to YourClassical MPR
• Dive in to Classical basics
• You can sign up for YourClassical MPR updates in your inbox

MPR News  St. Paul

MPR News is Minnesota Public Radio’s statewide newsroom, whose signals reach every Minnesota county and nearly all of the state's population. 

MPR News has one of the largest newsrooms in the state, with reporters and producers in seven bureaus across Minnesota and  at the Capitol in St. Paul, just down the street from MPR headquarters. 

The station produces a significant amount of local programming throughout the day, including hourly local newscasts and its flagship Morning Edition, Minnesota Now and All Things Considered programs, as well as its signature statewide call-in show, MPR News with Angela Davis.

• How to become a member of MPR News
• You can also sign up for MPR News updates
• Listen 'Tough choices ahead' at MPR, APM after Senate approves public media cuts (MPR News)

TPT Twin Cities PBS  St. Paul

Founded in the 1950s, Twin Cities PBS produces programming for local and national audiences and distribution, including its flagship public affairs program, Almanac, and its Minnesota Experience docuseries. 

“In 2024, nearly 30% of our broadcast viewers made under $25,000,” TPT says in its latest fundraising push. “Public television is a lifeline.” 

The station produces award-winning national shows, like the 2025 James Beard Award-winning Relish, hosted by Twin Cities chef Yia Vang. 

TPT’s stable of original series cover the broad ground of culture, music, religion, youth and the U.S. legal system. It hosts events, performances and programming around the Twin Cities metro area. 

It recently developed new kids’ programming, Skillsville, whose production team was furloughed in May after the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would terminate the program’s Ready to Learn grant funding. 

The Star Tribune reported this week that the station has announced an unspecified number of layoffs, effective now.

• How to become aTPT member
• You can also sign up for TPT newsletters
• Understand the impacts of federal funding. TPT announces furloughs after federal grant for kid's show terminated (MPR News)

Pioneer Community Radio  Thief River Falls

What is now Pioneer Community Radio launched in 1971 from Thief River Falls Area Vocational School, with the goal of training students to help meet staffing needs for small market radio stations. 

The station says it now works to connect rural listeners with music and programming they wouldn't otherwise have easy access to. Students from Northland Community and Technical College  produce local programming for an audience that reaches from Grand Forks, N.D., to Fosston and Drayton to Mahnomen. 

The station hosts local events and produces several local programs, including PolkaCast, an all-polka streaming channel.

• How to donate to Pioneer Community Radio
• You can also follow Pioneer PolkaCast and Pioneer Community Radio on Facebook

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Have we missed a public media organization affected by federal funding cuts?Let us know by emailing Meg at [email protected], and we’ll update this list.

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Public media in surrounding states affected, too

While our focus is primarily on Minnesota, the broadcast landscape transcends borders. Public television and radio stations in the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Iowa are also feeling the effects of the loss of CPB funding. 

For a full picture of the impact of CPB cuts, see its station finder map.

More coverage:

• North Dakota: Prairie Public expects ‘significant hit’ from federal cuts to PBS, NPR (North Dakota Monitor)
• South Dakota: SD Public Broadcasting considering cuts, layoffs after Congress rescinds federal funding (South Dakota Searchlight)
• Iowa: IPR, Iowa PBS to lose funding under federal cuts to public broadcasting (Iowa Public Radio)
• Wisconsin: Citing budget concerns, WPR lays off staff, cuts programs (Wisconsin Public Radio)