Last week, the House and Senate voted to rescind, or claw back, roughly a billion dollars they had already approved to fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s operations in 2026 and 2027. CPB acts as a conduit, distributing federal money to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, but more important, to public radio stations throughout the country that rely on these funds to support their community-centric, nonpartisan programming.
Rural stations will be disproportionately affected, and our beloved KSJD is one of those stations. In October, the start of FY2026, it will lose $$165,000 ($330,000 over two years), roughly a third of its overall funding.
Those who regularly listen to KSJD (or its affiliate stations KZET in Towaoc or KICO in Rico), or who visit the Sunflower Theatre, already know what a critical role they play in the cultural life of this community, and how effectively they execute the Community Radio Project’s mission of informing, entertaining, and empowering the people of the Four Corners region through music, news, arts, and public media services.
Now, however, this mission faces an immediate and existential threat. Acting together as a community, we must rally. This is not a drill. A gaping hole has opened in KSJD’s balance sheet. Without the proactive support of this community, the Sunflower Theatre and KSJD are at risk of going dark. Should that happen, the void in our daily lives and in the fabric of our community will be profound and deeply regrettable.
It is, however, avoidable. Please join us in visiting ksjd.org, and donating. You won’t regret it, but you’ll almost certainly regret the absence of these cultural institutions from our collective civic life.
Maddy Butcher, Dolores; Claudia Martin, Cortez; Julie Carey, Dolores, Mike Chariton, Cortez; Chad Wheelus, Dolores; Chuck Greaves, Cortez
Community Radio Project Board of Directors
