The federal government’s recent shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is already creating significant budget strains for Colorado news stations, including KFFR 88.3 FM, Grand County’s community radio station. 

Before the July decision to cut over $1 billion in public media funding, KFFR’s executive director Ryan Wilson said the station was on track to qualify for a grant that would have provided up to $180,000 annually — nearly double its current budget. These grant funds were earmarked to launch a newsroom for their new KWTR 89.1 FM station and expand Colorado River-focused coverage throughout Grand County and beyond.

The Rescissions Act of 2025 passed congress on July 18 and was signed by President Trump on July 24, clawing back $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, NPR reported. Subsequently, the public media organization — the largest single source of funding for public radio — announced their impending shutdown and a gradual halt to its operations in an Aug. 1 press release.  

According to the statement, the majority of staff positions will conclude with the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, and a small transition team will remain through Jan. 2026 to “ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations.”

“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” said the corporation’s president and CEO Patricia Harrison. ” … Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country.”

Grand County radio loses out from federal cuts

With the corporation’s funding no longer available, Wilson and his small team at KFFR have been forced to pivot. Now, he said, KWTR will mostly simulcast with KFFR while partnering with local journalists for news segments instead of creating its own newsroom.

Daily water reports from specialists, a permaculture show and a potential news hour with journalists from Sky-Hi News are all in the works to fill gaps in KWTR’s programming, Wilson said. 

The success of KFFR’s June membership drive left Wilson and his staff feeling fortunate for the Grand County community’s dedication to keeping public radio alive. Donations amounted to nearly $68,000, surpassing the station’s original $50,000 goal, according to Anastasia Button, KFFR’s office manager. 

The surplus will go directly toward purchasing generators for the station’s tower sites in case of emergency power loss. With this equipment, Wilson said he hopes to avoid future transmitter outages such as the one that occurred after the recent Windy Gap fire.

Despite a lean budget and only two full-time staff members, KFFR continues to recruit citizen journalists. The station currently has 65 volunteer DJs, all of whom are highly dedicated to a mission of community-centered programming, Wilson said.

“I think we have a good foundation of support,” he said. “We might not be able to do as many things as we normally can, but I feel like there’s several safety nets there.”

While KFFR remains committed to providing essential news to Grand County despite the setback, Wilson believes other local radio stations, especially in rural areas, may be forced to shut down in the absence of federal funding. Communities with limited or no access to credible news, or news deserts, no longer have access to important information about public or political affairs that feed democracy, according to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Small rural areas that lose their local newspaper or radio station also lose the democratic process, because they’re not informed about what’s happening in their local community,” Wilson said.

While rural areas could be hit the hardest, community radio stations throughout Colorado — and the nation — face serious budget gaps. 19 local Colorado stations had federal funding revoked following the passage of the Rescissions Act and subsequent CPB shutdown, the Colorado Sun reported. The loss of funding for these stations, which control 52 signals across the state, impact listeners in every congressional district.

“Now we have to ask our local community, our local granters, regional granters, to help us,” Wilson said. “If we allow these news deserts to grow, we’re not only losing our community, but we’re also losing the value of democracy.”