South Dakota Public Broadcasting endured a brutal year.
The broadcaster survived a proposed 65 percent budget cut. It lost all federal funding. Now it races to raise $2 million before Halloween.
SDPB has nine days. The network raised $1.9 million—95 percent of its goal. Success means survival. Failure could end SDPB as South Dakotans know it.
“We just crossed $1.9M,” Friends of SDPB CEO Ryan Howlett wrote Saturday. “Should cross the $2M sometime next week.”
A Complicated History
Governor Noem and SDPB fought for years—even as her administration increased the broadcaster’s funding.
Under Noem, SDPB’s state funding grew from $4.2 million in 2020 to $5.6 million in 2025—a 33 percent increase that outpaced inflation.
Yet tensions simmered over coverage and editorial independence.
The conflict erupted in July 2022. Noem refused SDPB’s traditional gubernatorial debate, breaking longstanding precedent. Her campaign declared it would not participate “due to extreme leftist slant from National Public Radio and SDPB.”
Campaign spokesman Ian Fury cited NPR’s 2022 decision to replace its July 4th Declaration of Independence reading with a discussion on “what equality means” as “the final straw.” The campaign also criticized SDPB’s coverage of Noem’s efforts to restrict how race and history are taught in South Dakota schools.
“SDPB has repeatedly promoted the radical effort to re-write American history and cancel our Founding Fathers,” the Noem campaign stated. “SDPB’s extreme leftward swing precludes the possibility of a fair debate.”
SDPB management defended its coverage as fair and objective, noting that hosting statewide debates was part of its public service mission. When Noem declined to participate, SDPB placed an empty chair on the debate stage—a pointed visual reminder of her absence.
Democratic challenger Jamie Smith and Libertarian candidate Tracey Quint participated in the October 2022 SDPB debate while Noem held a competing “Salute to Veterans” event in Sioux Falls.
Despite the fight, state funding grew through 2025. Noem’s budgets recommended increases even as her rhetoric grew hostile. This suggested legislative support remained strong—or that Noem herself was torn.
The Budget Ax Falls
That changed dramatically in December 2024 when Noem proposed slashing SDPB’s state general fund allocation by $3.6 million—a 65 percent cut that would reduce funding from $5.6 million to approximately $1.9 million—as part of $72 million in statewide spending reductions.
Noem justified the dramatic cut by citing South Dakota’s position as the third-highest per-capita funder of public broadcasting in the nation, claiming the state paid “more than double the national average.” The governor framed the reduction as necessary amid declining sales tax revenue and the end of federal pandemic relief funds.
The proposal sent shockwaves through South Dakota’s media landscape and sparked immediate resistance from SDPB supporters across the state’s political spectrum. Many saw the proposed cut as retaliation for coverage Noem disliked, though the governor framed it purely in fiscal terms.
In March 2025, the South Dakota Legislature rejected Noem’s proposal and restored SDPB’s full funding—a rare legislative rebuke of the governor’s budget priorities.
By that time, Noem had already left the governorship. She was confirmed as President Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security and departed South Dakota in January 2025, leaving Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden to assume the governorship. The budget restoration came under Rhoden’s watch, though it reflected legislative sentiment that had been building since Noem’s December proposal.
But the victory proved short-lived.
Federal Funding Vanishes
Six months after the Legislature saved SDPB from state cuts, federal support vanished entirely. On October 1, 2025, a congressional vote to rescind federal financial support for public broadcasting eliminated SDPB’s $2.3 million in annual Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding—roughly 20-23 percent of the network’s $10.7 million operating budget.
The loss represented the foundation upon which the entire nationwide public broadcasting system was built. For SDPB, it meant contemplating elimination of 20 positions—approximately 25 percent of its 80-person staff—and fundamental changes to programming that has connected South Dakotans across the state’s vast geography for generations.
“This $2.3 annual loss puts SDPB’s future at risk,” campaign materials warn. “The effect could be devastating.”
The Bison Campaign
Faced with existential threat, SDPB launched the Bison Campaign in August 2025—a bold effort to raise $2 million to replace the federal funding and secure the network’s future.
“Like the bison, SDPB is bold, resilient, and strong,” Howlett said in announcing the campaign. “The bison runs through the storm. SDPB is going to come out of this situation more emboldened than ever.”
The response from South Dakotans has been remarkable. Since the federal funding rescission, SDPB has gained 417 new donors, while existing supporters increased their gifts and monthly sustainers raised their contributions.
Major Gifts and Matching Challenges
To jumpstart the campaign, a Sioux Falls family offered the SDPB Bison Challenge—a $100,000 matching gift to secure the future of local journalism and storytelling.
As the campaign neared its goal, a Rapid City donor pledged an additional $500,000 to SDPB’s endowment once the final $500,000 in current operating funds is raised—effectively making the last dollars worth double to the organization’s long-term sustainability.
The campaign structure reflects both urgency and pragmatism: gifts must be identified by October 31, 2025, but can be paid anytime before June 30, 2026, allowing major donors to pledge now while managing their own financial timelines.
What’s at Stake
For nearly seven decades, SDPB has served as South Dakota’s “broadcast water cooler”—a shared space for community conversations spanning the state’s geographic, economic, and demographic divides.
The network’s programming includes NPR news, PBS programming, original documentaries exploring South Dakota history and culture, legislative coverage, educational content for schools, and emergency weather alerts. Its 13 television and 23 radio transmitters reach over 90 percent of South Dakota and 382,000 households—covering areas from Lemmon to Elk Point, serving communities that often lack robust local news coverage or high-speed internet access.
“Public broadcasting is built for all of us,” campaign materials emphasize. “We are the public that SDPB serves and represents.”
Budget Evolution Under Noem
Noem’s proposed cut would have returned SDPB’s state funding below 2020 levels even as costs rose.
The Legislature restored state funding. But the federal loss created a crisis state money alone couldn’t solve.
The October Deadline
As the October 31 deadline approaches, campaign organizers have mobilized volunteers, alumni networks, and social media to spread the word. The campaign accepts donations through multiple channels—online giving, donor-advised funds, stock transfers, IRA charitable distributions, and traditional checks.
Beyond Crisis Management
Campaign organizers call the Bison Campaign more than survival—it’s “an opportunity to innovate and strategically build for the future.”
The endowment component—including the $500,000 Rapid City pledge—aims to reduce SDPB’s vulnerability to future funding disruptions.
Commercial Broadcasters’ Concerns
Not everyone viewed the proposed state cuts as catastrophic. Steve Willard, executive director of the South Dakota Broadcasters Association—which represents commercial television and radio stations across the state—expressed caution about SDPB’s alarm.
“Like everyone else, I’m a fan of the product,” Willard told the Argus Leader in December 2024. “I just don’t know what that cut means to them on the ground yet.”
Willard said he was “trying not to overreact” to the funding reduction, despite SDPB’s warnings of devastating consequences. His measured response suggested commercial broadcasters might see opportunity in SDPB’s potential retrenchment—particularly in news coverage and high school sports broadcasting, areas where commercial stations also compete.
The tension reflects a longstanding ambiguity in SDPB’s role. While SDPB is an associate member of the South Dakota Broadcasters Association, it also competes with commercial stations for audience and advertising-adjacent revenue through corporate underwriting.
Some South Dakotans question whether government-funded media remains necessary in an era of abundant media choices. Aaron Zahn, a Harrisburg grain elevator builder interviewed by NPR, exemplified this perspective: “Mainly just a Fox guy,” he said when asked about his news sources, expressing preference for commercial cable news over public broadcasting.
Yet SDPB’s reach—covering over 90 percent of South Dakota and 382,000 households—extends far beyond what most commercial broadcasters serve, particularly in rural areas where stations find limited economic incentive to maintain presence.
Political Dimensions
Critics questioned whether fiscal concerns masked political retaliation. Noem’s defenders pointed to budget pressures and South Dakota’s third-highest per-capita public broadcasting funding nationally.
The Legislature’s restoration suggested bipartisan recognition of SDPB’s value—a rare check on Noem’s priorities.
The federal cuts reflected Republican skepticism toward public broadcasting dating to Reagan. Conservative criticism targets NPR and PBS for perceived liberal bias. Critics acknowledge local stations like SDPB often receive praise even from Republican lawmakers.
Community Response
The fundraising success suggests South Dakotans across the spectrum value SDPB enough to donate during uncertain times.
Donors range from retirees giving $25 monthly to wealthy philanthropists pledging hundreds of thousands. The geographic spread encompasses all corners—Black Hills to Missouri River to Big Sioux Valley.
The Final Days
With the campaign at 95 percent of its goal and momentum building, supporters remain cautiously optimistic that South Dakota’s public broadcaster will cross the finish line before October 31.
Success would mean preserving most or all of 20 jobs and maintaining programming that serves as connective tissue for South Dakota’s far-flung communities. Failure would mean cuts fundamentally altering SDPB’s ability to fulfill its mission—particularly in remote areas where SDPB may be the only reliable source of news and emergency information.
Whether SDPB survives this year of broadcasting dangerously will determine not just the network’s immediate future, but its ability to continue serving as the one institution that reaches virtually every South Dakotan, regardless of location, income, or politics.
The Bottom Line:
- **Goal:** $2 million by October 31, 2025 (gifts identified; paid by June 30, 2026)
- **Raised to date:** $1.9 million (95 percent)
- **Remaining:** $100,000
- **At stake:** 20 jobs (25 percent of staff), significant programming cuts
- **Background:** $2.3M federal funding eliminated October 1; state funding restored after governor proposed 65 percent cut
**Editor’s Note:** Todd Epp worked for South Dakota Public Broadcasting from 1986 to 1995 as public affairs producer then as executive producer.
More information about the SDPB Bison Campaign is available at SDPBFriends.org, by calling 605-367-7266, or emailing friends@sdpb.org.
Friends of SDPB is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tax ID: 23-7310698
