09-05-2025
Proud of being a voice for region, Pioneer PBS now asks supporters to speak up
May 9----
is a small public television station that prides itself on giving a voice to a large, rural area of western Minnesota through its commitment to locally produced programming, according to its president and general manager, Shari Lamke.
Now, Lamke, her staff and board of directors are hoping residents in its service area will use their voices to support public television amid threatened cuts to federal funding for public broadcasting. An executive order by President
calls for ending federal funding for the Corporation for Pubic Broadcasting, which distributes the funds to public television and radio stations across the country.
National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service are challenging the president's orders. Public broadcasting supporters are also asking Congress to continue funding.
Federal funds represent 29 percent of the annual budget for Pioneer PBS, according to Lamke. The funds are used mainly to pay for much of the national programming it airs, ranging from educational programming for children to science, news and entertainment shows.
It's impossible to know at this point exactly how the local television system would be affected if the federal funds are lost. There would be real harm, according to Lamke.
"It is infrastructure," she said of the national programming made possible by the federal funds. "If you take the infrastructure away, what happens, none of us know" she said.
Pioneer PBS got its start in February 1966 in an old schoolhouse near
. Today, it's located in a modern studio in Granite Falls. Lamke is currently looking to fill a few vacant spots, but at full staffing the operation relies on 26 employees.
It is one of 330 independent, locally run and operated, community-licensed television stations whose focus is the regions they serve in the U.S., said Lamke. Pioneer PBS broadcasts from towers in Appleton,
and Fergus Falls to a 45-county area of western Minnesota. It's home to just over 1 million potential viewers.
Pioneer PBS also streams programming through a variety of platforms, reaching audiences in most of eastern South Dakota, parts of western Wisconsin, and large urban areas including Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Twin Cities.
Its local programming is recognized with a trophy case holding 31 Emmy awards since 2013. But Lamke said it is the support and interest of local viewers that matters most, along with the opportunity to share the region's stories to those living well beyond its 45-county home turf.
Its popular "Prairie Sportsman" program, for example, is also carried by stations in Illinois, Wyoming, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa and Michigan.
Two other locally focused and produced programs, "Prairie Yard and Garden" and the arts- and culture-focused "Postcards," also have large audiences well beyond the region.
Giving voice to the stories of the region is at the heart of much of its local programming, often as special projects, according to the general manager. Documentaries have focused on regional stories ranging from the Willmar 8 to the region's rich Scandinavian folk arts and culture, as well the life of professional rodeo star Tanner Aus.
Lamke also cited ongoing documentaries and programs that have brought the compelling stories of the region's war veterans and Indigenous residents to a broad audience as other examples of the station's important role.
She likes to point out that public broadcasting is unique in that it is not beholden to the forces that drive commercial decision-making, where there is the criticism of "if it bleeds, it leads."
Public television relies on donations from its viewers, along with grants and the support of the state and federal governments.
In the United States, residents are all currently paying about $1.60 per person per year to support public broadcasting, according to Lamke. She points out that residents in Japan pay about $40 per year per person. In the United Kingdom, it is around $100; it is $176 in Norway and $32.43 in Canada.
Lamke recently returned from trips to both St. Paul and Washington to speak to Minnesota elected officials. In Washington, she was able to meet directly with U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. Klobuchar left the Senate floor to visit with her and other representatives of public broadcasting.
Lamke said she was encouraged, too, by the support she heard during visits with state legislators representing the region.
She said she is hopeful of support from the viewing public in western Minnesota. Viewer surveys and ongoing input from an advisory board and residents from the region indicate the station is very much appreciated, she said.
In a rural area, she said, there are many viewers who rely on it. Some have told her and other staff members that it is their lifeline to the outside world.
But the most telling testimony of viewer support came in mid-2023, when the station's aged technology broke down and knocked it off the air for several weeks. Over and over, the station was contacted by viewers expressing how much they missed it and wanted its return, said Lamke. One man kept his television tuned to channel 10, waiting for the moment the signal returned, she said.
"If you are going to support a station in a community, they better represent that community," she said of the station's focus. "I have a huge belief in (that) the voice of the local community is what makes us unique."
Information about the station's local content and programming and more is available on its website at
