Iowa Public Radio maintains services despite elimination of state funding – Iowa Capital Dispatch

Iowa Public Radio anticipates a decent funds however no main influence on programming for listeners regardless of the Legislature’s transfer this yr to eradicate state assist from this system, its government director mentioned Wednesday.

Republican legislators voted to eradicate $345,000 in state assist for Iowa Public Radio. The Iowa Board of Regents additionally halted funding the stations as funds restraints emerged from the pandemic in 2020. The Regents’ minimize amounted to $875,000 making up 10% of the Iowa Public Radio’s funds.

Rep. Eric Gjerde, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, protested the change throughout debate of Home File 2575 through the last hours of the legislative session.

“A hundred percent of the (state) funding for Iowa Public Radio goes away,” he mentioned. “I don’t learn about you all, however I learn about my household, and the way we worth Iowa Public Radio.”

Iowa Public Radio is a state radio station, Gjerde mentioned. “And as soon as this piece of laws passes, will probably be a state radio station that not receives public funds.”

Myrna Johnson, IPR government director, informed Iowa Capital Dispatch she doesn’t anticipate any cuts to employees or in programming due to the reductions.

“I feel we’re going to should be budgeting very tightly this subsequent yr however we hope to not have main impacts on the companies that our listeners hear,” Johnson mentioned.

Iowa Public Broadcasting obtained an annual allocation from the state basic fund for operations and cash for updating tools and broadcasting towers. The station additionally receives cash from donors.

The Iowa Board of Regents created Iowa Public Radio in 2004 to handle the general public radio teams of the College of Iowa, Iowa State College and College of Northern Iowa. Iowa Public Radio serves over 200,000 listeners throughout 26 stations in all of Iowa’s 99 counties, with over $11 million in belongings.

As public funding for broadcasting has dwindled throughout the nation, Johnson mentioned Iowa Public Radio has examined how different radio stations managed decreased funding from state universities to arrange for this shift.

“We’ve been making this transition over time,” Johnson mentioned. “We’ve been managing these stations for 15 years and that is in some ways a logical subsequent step.

Johnson mentioned the station has at all times centered on fundraising. Over 75% of Iowa Public Radio’s funding comes from people, companies and firms. It additionally receives a grant from the Company for Public Broadcasting.

“Our aim is to supply a superb public radio service to the state, so the transition is simply part of making certain that there’s a robust public radio community right here in Iowa,” Johnson mentioned.