Federal budget propsal could affect local NPR station KRCU

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct Dan Woods' title.

KRCU, Cape Girardeau's local National Public Radio station, may face hits to its funding if budget cuts proposed by the state and the federal government are passed.

Located in the Serena Building at Southeast Missouri State University's main campus, KRCU receives funding from the university, federal government, state government and donations.

In March, President Donald Trump released his proposed budget, which allows for cuts to a number of government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Labor. The plan also proposes to "eliminate or zero out" other programs, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the agency that issues grants to organizations such as NPR and the Public Broadcasting Station.

The CPB receives approximately $149 million per year from the federal government, 95 percent of which goes to nearly 1,500 stations around the country, many of which are in rural areas where little other broadcast options are available.

Of the 575 stations receiving grants from the CPB, 162 of them are classified as rural radio stations like KRCU.

According to Dan Woods, general manager of KRCU, the station provides national and local programs to give listeners what he calls "an expanded view of the world."

"We share differing ideas, differing perspectives about things and bring the world to Southeast Missouri," Woods said.

KRCU uses syndicated programs from NPR that Woods said cost the station more than $100,000 every year, but the station also provides a number of local programs, including a monthly program called "Vargas Speaks," in which Southeast's president Dr. Carlos Vargas-Aburto discusses the institution and higher education.

Woods said if grants to KRCU are decreased or lost completely, certain programs may have to be cut back and filled with less expensive programming.

Currently, KRCU receives approximately 22 percent of its budget from CPB community-service grants. The grants are based on fundraising and can increase depending on the efficiency of a station's fundraising techniques, as well as funding from the Missouri Endowment for the Arts and fundraising.

Approximately 45 percent of KRCU's funding comes from Southeast's Office of University Advancement. Bill Holland, the vice president of University Advancement and director of the University Foundation, said the foundation is still expecting to collaborate with KRCU in Fiscal Year 2018 as it has in years past.

"Right now, from what we know, we anticipate a very active and exciting year next year," Holland said.

Holland added the foundation will adjust its funding for KRCU if the federal budget cuts are passed. At this time, budget cuts by the federal and state governments are still in the works and have not been approved.

Woods said he's hoping bipartisan support in Congress will prevent cuts to CPB.

"There's very broad bipartisan support from CPB in Congress," Woods said. "The feeling is, even though the president has proposed to eliminate funding for CPB, we're fairly hopeful and fairly confident that the funding will remain at least for this coming year."

Woods' hope is supported by past blocks by Congress to eliminate or cut funding to the CPB. Cuts to the CPB have been proposed in the past by presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, but all were rejected by Congress.

Pertinent address:

Serena Building, Cape Girardeau, Mo.