Private donations to keep Humanities North Dakota open after federal cut
Attendees listen to a presentation by podcaster and author Kate Bowler organized by Humanities North Dakota in Fargo in 2024. (Photo provided by Humanities North Dakota)
Humanities North Dakota has received $300,000 in private donations to keep its doors open after it learned earlier this month all its federal funding had been terminated.
That figure includes $200,000 from the New York-based Mellon Foundation, which on Tuesday pledged $15 million to a total of 56 humanities councils around the country. The other $100,000 came from other donors, according to Executive Director Brenna Gerhardt.
The money will help keep the organization afloat after its grant money was abruptly pulled by the federal government. But it only replaces a portion of the cut funding.
'The Mellon Foundation's support is both a lifeline and a vote of confidence,' Gerhardt said in a Tuesday statement announcing the award.
In addition, Humanities North Dakota can receive up to $50,000 in matching funds from the Mellon Foundation with the help of local donors. The Mellon Foundation will double any contributions to Humanities North Dakota made after Tuesday. Donations can be made on the Humanities North Dakota website.
'At stake are both the operational integrity of organizations like museums, libraries, historical societies in every single state, as well as the mechanisms to participate in the cultural dynamism and exchange that is a fundamental part of American civic life,' Elizabeth Alexander, the Mellon Foundation's president, said in a Tuesday announcement.
Alexander said that even though the donation won't cover all of the lost funding, she hopes the money will help councils get by.
Humanities North Dakota in limbo after loss of federal funding
Humanities North Dakota, which provides public education in areas including history, civics and the arts, has historically relied on funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to cover operational costs.
The nonprofit on April 2 received a letter from the federal agency that stated a $900,000 grant it received for the 2025 fiscal year had been terminated. Humanities North Dakota, which has four full-time and two part-time staff, had yet to spend more than $600,000 of the grant.
The National Endowment for the Humanities, which provides funding to humanities organizations across the country, is 'repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President's agenda,' Acting Chairman Michael McDonald wrote in the letter.
The letter cites a Feb. 19 executive order by President Donald Trump which the White House says will streamline federal bureaucracy.
A total of $65 million in grant money awarded to 56 humanities councils serving U.S. states, territories and Washington, D.C., was terminated.
In response to the funding cuts, Humanities North Dakota is launching a new initiative to share online programming with other humanities councils, Gerhardt said.
Called 'The Study,' the effort is intended to help out councils that don't have the funding to continue providing programming without the federal money.
Humanities councils that join The Study will get access to livestreamed programs, a repository of recorded events and other content.
Humanities North Dakota is in a unique position to help other councils since it's consistently held events online since the coronavirus pandemic, said Gerhardt.
'We're the only one with the infrastructure to pivot this quickly,' she said. The hope is that North Dakota and other states begin collaborating and pooling resources so all Americans have access to humanities programming, she added.
Five other states have already joined the initiative — Washington, Iowa, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana, according to Gerhardt.
Humanities North Dakota will still provide the same programs moving forward, though the current plan is to cut the number of events by about half, Gerhardt said. The nonprofit's programs, which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more, reached an estimated 24,000 people last year.
Congress created the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1965 and appropriates money for grants to humanities councils across the U.S.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump EPA moves to repeal climate rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from US power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action that Administrator Lee Zeldin said would remove billions of dollars in costs for industry and help 'unleash' American energy. The EPA also proposed weakening a regulation that requires power plants to reduce emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants that can harm brain development of young children and contribute to heart attacks and other health problems in adults. The rollbacks are meant to fulfill Republican President Donald Trump's repeated pledge to 'unleash American energy' and make it more affordable for Americans to power their homes and operate businesses. If approved and made final, the plans would reverse efforts by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration to address climate change and improve conditions in areas heavily burdened by industrial pollution, mostly in low-income and majority Black or Hispanic communities. The power plant rules are among about 30 environmental regulations that Zeldin targeted in March when he announced what he called the 'most consequential day of deregulation in American history.' Zeldin said Wednesday the new rules would help end what he called the Biden and Obama administration's 'war on so much of our U.S. domestic energy supply.' 'The American public spoke loudly and clearly last November,' he added in a speech at EPA headquarters. 'They wanted to make sure that … no matter what agency anybody might be confirmed to lead, we are finding opportunities to pursue common-sense, pragmatic solutions that will help reduce the cost of living … create jobs and usher in a golden era of American prosperity.' Environmental and public health groups called the rollbacks dangerous and vowed to challenge the rules in court. Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate & Health, called the proposals 'yet another in a series of attacks' by the Trump administration on the nation's 'health, our children, our climate and the basic idea of clean air and water.' She called it 'unconscionable to think that our country would move backwards on something as common sense as protecting children from mercury and our planet from worsening hurricanes, wildfires, floods and poor air quality driven by climate change.' 'Ignoring the immense harm to public health from power plant pollution is a clear violation of the law,' added Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council. 'If EPA finalizes a slapdash effort to repeal those rules, we'll see them in court.' The EPA-targeted rules could prevent an estimated 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion each year they are in effect, according to an Associated Press examination that included the agency's own prior assessments and a wide range of other research. It's by no means guaranteed that the rules will be entirely eliminated — they can't be changed without going through a federal rulemaking process that can take years and requires public comment and scientific justification. Even a partial dismantling of the rules would mean more pollutants such as smog, mercury and lead — and especially more tiny airborne particles that can lodge in lungs and cause health problems, the AP analysis found. It would also mean higher emissions of the greenhouse gases driving Earth's warming to deadlier levels. Biden, a Democrat, had made fighting climate change a hallmark of his presidency. Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a strict EPA rule issued last year. Then-EPA head Michael Regan said the power plant rules would reduce pollution and improve public health while supporting a reliable, long-term supply of electricity. The power sector is the nation's second-largest contributor to climate change, after transportation. In its proposed regulation, the Trump EPA argues that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from fossil fuel-fired power plants 'do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution' or climate change and therefore do not meet a threshold under the Clean Air Act for regulatory action. Greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired plants 'are a small and decreasing part of global emissions,' the EPA said, adding: 'this Administration's priority is to promote the public health or welfare through energy dominance and independence secured by using fossil fuels to generate power.' The Clean Air Act allows the EPA to limit emissions from power plants and other industrial sources if those emissions significantly contribute to air pollution that endangers public health. If fossil fuel plants no longer meet the EPA's threshold, the Trump administration may later argue that other pollutants from other industrial sectors don't either and therefore shouldn't be regulated, said Meghan Greenfield, a former EPA and Justice Department lawyer now in private practice. The EPA proposal 'has the potential to have much, much broader implications,' she said. Zeldin, a former New York congressman, said the Biden-era rules were designed to 'suffocate our economy in order to protect the environment,' with the intent to regulate the coal industry 'out of existence' and make it 'disappear.' National Mining Association president and CEO Rich Nolan applauded the new rules, saying they remove 'deliberately unattainable standards' for clean air while 'leveling the playing field for reliable power sources, instead of stacking the deck against them.' But Dr. Howard Frumkin, a former director of the National Center for Environmental Health and professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Public Health, said Zeldin and Trump were trying to deny reality. 'The world is round, the sun rises in the east, coal-and gas-fired power plants contribute significantly to climate change, and climate change increases the risk of heat waves, catastrophic storms and many other health threats,' Frumkin said. 'These are indisputable facts. If you torpedo regulations on power plant greenhouse gas emissions, you torpedo the health and well-being of the American public and contribute to leaving a world of risk and suffering to our children and grandchildren.' A paper published earlier this year in the journal Science found the Biden-era rules could reduce U.S. power sector carbon emissions by 73% to 86% below 2005 levels by 2040, compared with a reduction of 60% to 83% without the rules. 'Carbon emissions in the power sector drop at a faster rate with the (Biden-era) rules in place than without them,' said Aaron Bergman, a fellow at Resources for the Future, a nonprofit research institution and a co-author of the Science paper. The Biden rule also would result in 'significant reductions in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, pollutants that harm human health,' he said.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OSU falls victim to budget cuts, putting a damper on scientific research
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The awarding of an OSU microfluidics research fund of $45 million has been called off by the Trump administration, leaving researchers fumbling for options. Microfluidics, the scientific study of the behavior of liquid on a microscopic level, is a recently established field and is hoped to aid in the medical realm as well as the manufacturing of semiconductors, a partially conductive component of many day-to-day electronic devices. The grant's cancellation has been a source of upset for researchers, but OSU is already looking ahead to future opportunities. Anti-ICE protests escalate outside Southwest Portland facility 'While we are disappointed in the notification of the EDA award cancellation for CorMic [Corvallis Microfluidics Tech Hub], we fully intend to participate in the EDA's next Notice of Funding Opportunity and remain well positioned to further national security interests as a global leader in microfluidics for semiconductor manufacturing, ' Tom Weller, Gaulke Professor and Head said. 'Oregon State University will continue to work alongside HP and other partners to further the commercialization of new microfluidics-connected technologies for semiconductor manufacturing, biotechnology, and advanced materials manufacturing.' This is not an isolated incident, with Trump having attempted to cut billions in allocated federal funding to scientific research since the beginning of his current term. White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, 'The Trump administration is spending its first few months reviewing the previous administration's projects, identifying waste, and realigning our research spending to match the American people's priorities and continue our innovative dominance.' Universities are getting hit with the full force of these budget cuts, with biomedical research being classified as 'waste.' Just in February, the National Institutes of Health proposed cutting billions of dollars to OHSU research looking at cancer and heart disease, among other afflictions. These cuts were immediately met with lawsuits from, but not limited to, the Association of American Universities and 22 state attorneys general. These lawsuits are still in progress. The Association of American Universities' lawsuit called the NIH cuts 'flagrantly unlawful' and expressed concern that 'our country will lose its status as the destination for solving the world's biggest health problems.' Scientists of the NIH itself have begun to speak out, publicly disagreeing with the institute's actions, claiming that the cuts 'undermine the NIH mission.' Cuts to scientific research are becoming a recurring source of contention as Trump's second term continues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Metal manufacturer to lay off nearly 150 in Lakeville, Shakopee, Plymouth
A Plymouth-based sheet metal fabricator and manufacturer of precision metal components will close all of its Minnesota facilities, including its Lakeville, Plymouth and Shakopee locations, laying off nearly 150 workers following failed efforts to put itself up for sale. J&E Companies will lay off 45 employees from its Lakeville site alone, including welders, machine operators, process engineers, plant managers, drivers and other job classifications. A letter to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, dated June 2, indicated that the layoffs will take effect that same day 'due to financial difficulties and circumstances,' and that 'a potential sale of the business' had fallen through. The workers are non-unionized and do not have bumping rights, according to the company's letter, which is signed by a corporate adviser from Harney Partners. J&E Companies was founded more than 65 years ago and provided precision machining and fabrication services to the medical, aerospace, commercial and agricultural industries, according to its website. In 2022, it acquired R&B, a Wisconsin-based precision machining company with more than 100 employees. In all, the merged companies maintained six sites in Minnesota, Racine, Wis. and Reynosa, Mexico, with a combined total of 325 employees. A call to a company spokesperson was not immediately returned on Wednesday. Whitebridge Capital Partners announced Wednesday it is acquiring the major assets of R&B Grinding of Racine, which will be renamed RB Industrial Manufacturing LLC, 'in recognition of the full range of machining processes the company can provide from its 140,000 square foot facility,' reads a statement from Whitebridge, which specializes in distressed manufacturing companies. 'We're not involved in the Minnesota operations at all,' said Todd DiBenedetto, principal with Whitebridge Capital Partners, in a brief phone interview on Wednesday. He said the Mexican plant was still in operation, and 'we are looking at it. We may get involved with it in the future, but right this second, we're not.' Feds: Minneapolis, Dakota County search warrants stemmed from 900 lbs of meth found in Burnsville storage unit Eagan city administrator withdraws resignation, passes up ICMA role Community memorial set for William 'Ike' Eickholt, found dead last winter MN Legislature: Measure to divert transportation funds from counties dropped Charges filed in drive-by shooting outside Burnsville High School graduation