Latest news with #SDPB
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SDPB holds free screening for town of Faith, SD
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) will be holding a free screening of 'Greetings from Faith'–an episode of its Dakota Life series. According to a news release, it'll be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, at the Faith Community Center, 204 N. Main St. The special tells stories about what life is like in the town of Faith. Guests who aren't able to make it to the screening can watch it live on Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m. on SDPB1 or at Inside KELOLAND: What to do in Sioux Falls this summer? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Appropriators reject Noem's $3.6 million cut for SDPB
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The panel that sets state government's budget has decided against making a massive cut in general funding for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Former Gov. Kristi Noem had recommended in December that $3,613,698 of general funding be stripped from SDPB's budget for the new fiscal year that starts on July 1. Noem wanted SDPB to find the money from other sources. House votes to slow growth of owner-occupied values But the Legislature's Joint Committee on Appropriations rejected the former governor's proposed cut on Tuesday. Members of SDPB's Friends organization and some of its management staff were in the room when the decision was made. The vote was 15-0 against making the cut. 'This was a team effort across both sides of the aisle,' Democratic Rep. Erik Muckey said. Republican Rep. Chris Kassin agreed. 'Really happy to see funding restored to South Dakota Public Broadcasting at the full level,' he said. The committee's chair, Republican Rep. Mike Derby, asked that a SDPB representative come forward. Executive director Julie Overgaard went up. She's been with SDPB 37 years. 'This has been one of the few hardest months of my life and my past life,' Overgaard said. She thanked the appropriators for listening and acknowledged that 'there's probably more conversation to come' about SDPB's future direction. In the December budget speech, Noem said, 'I propose reducing funding for South Dakota Public Broadcasting to bring us in line with the national average. Currently, South Dakota has the 3rd highest per-capita funding of public broadcasting of any state in the nation. We've been paying more than double the national average.' Noem meanwhile had also recommended starting education enhancement savings accounts that would have provided $4 million for K-12 students enrolled at an accredited nonpublic school or microschool or receiving state-approved virtual coursework outside of a public school district. The ESA legislation however failed in the House Education Committee. That in turn freed up money in the general fund. Noem resigned in January as governor after the U.S. Senate confirmed her appointment as the new federal Homeland Security secretary. The lieutenant governor, Larry Rhoden, succeeded her as governor. 'We appreciate the work that you did and the decision that you make,' Overgaard told the appropriators. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Busloads of public broadcasting supporters make case to avoid $3.6 million state budget cut
South Dakota Public Broadcasting's mascot, Buddy, waves to a crowd of supporters gathered on Feb. 7, 2025, at the Capitol Rotunda in Pierre. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — Supporters of South Dakota Public Broadcasting made their pitch Friday at the Capitol to avoid a $3.6 million budget cut that they said would undermine public safety, government transparency, education, high school activities and local storytelling. The state agency receives state and federal funding, along with money raised by its affiliated nonprofit, the Friends of SDPB. Friends CEO Ryan Howlett told members of the Legislature's budget committee that the state funding cut would imperil federal matching funds, and the combined reduction in state and federal funding would trigger 'grim' local programming cuts that would hinder fundraising. 'It's not just a $3.6 million budget cut,' Howlett said. 'It's much more substantial than that because of the domino effect.' Proposed funding cut could sink network in as little as two years, SDPB director says He estimated that the combined effect of the lost state, federal and privately raised money would shrink the organization's total budget from $11 million to $4 million, and reduce its workforce from 76 to 26. That would effectively diminish the network to a pass-through for national programming on radio and television, Howlett said. Locally produced shows would end, and the organization would no longer be able to broadcast dozens of state high school events ranging from all-state orchestra to football championship games. It's SDPB's willingness and ability to cover all 40 to 50 state-level high school events — not just a few of the popular sports — that makes the agency a vital partner of the South Dakota High School Activities Association, said Executive Director Dan Swartos. 'We're not going to find another over-air partner who is able to do that,' Swartos said. Lawmakers learned about a lesser-known aspect of SDPB's work from its director of engineering and operations, Severn Ashes. He explained that SDPB's statewide network of broadcast towers is a backbone for the state and national Emergency Alert System, with alerts received and triggered by SDPB, and then relayed by other broadcasting systems. If the budget cut is adopted, Ashes said, 'the state would have to find an alternative' for the system. The network also live-streams, records and archives every legislative committee hearing and floor session of the state House and Senate, plus the meetings of dozens of state boards and commissions. The agency would not be able to operate that system with its reduced funding, Howlett said. Kayla Klein, representing the Early Learner South Dakota advocacy group, testified about the value of SDPB's free educational programming and resources for parents, homeschoolers and child care providers. She drew smiles in the committee room with a story about her young son using something he learned on the PBS show 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' to help her through a difficult day: 'He turned to me and said, 'Mom: When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath and count to four.'' Eric Erickson, vice president of corporate partnerships for the Friends of SDPB, said the educational programming, the high school activities broadcasts, the podcasts and documentaries that SDPB produces about South Dakota news and history, and other SDPB programming are worthy of state support. 'The stories we do are not profitable — they're important,' he said. The hearing was one of many that the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee conducts as it works to prepare the annual state budget. Members listened and asked questions but took no action and made no public comments indicating support or opposition to the SDPB budget cut. This year's legislative session began last month and continues through mid-March. The budget bill typically takes most of the session to draft, with many decisions occurring in the final weeks and days of the session. Republican former Gov. Kristi Noem proposed the public broadcasting cut in December before she departed last month to become the secretary of the federal Department of Homeland Security. The state is facing a difficult budget year due to declining sales tax revenue, the depletion of pandemic aid from the federal government and rising Medicaid costs. New Gov. Larry Rhoden, who was Noem's lieutenant governor, acknowledged last month in a speech to the Legislature that 'there is concern about some specifics in the budget proposal.' 'I will work with our budget office to try to restore some of those cuts,' he said at the time, without going into specifics. After Friday's budget hearing, SDPB leaders gathered with two busloads of supporters for a picture on the Capitol Rotunda steps. Rhoden's lieutenant governor, Tony Venhuizen, joined them. In a brief interview with South Dakota Searchlight, Venhuizen said revenue projections are looking a little worse than when Noem proposed her budget. 'In a tough budget year, you have to prioritize and make tradeoffs, and there are all sorts of cuts being proposed that nobody really wants to make,' Venhuizen said. 'We'll just see what happens over the next couple of weeks.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SD governor predicts solution for rising homeowner property taxes
South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks during a press conference Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre with Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) PIERRE — Lawmakers will find a way this winter to 'tamp down the increase' in property taxes for South Dakota homeowners, Gov. Larry Rhoden predicted Thursday at the Capitol. Rhoden said during a press conference that he formed a property tax working group with legislators and began meeting with them Monday. Lawmakers are in Pierre for their annual legislative session. 'I'm pretty confident based on our first meeting — that went very well — that we'll be able to find a solution this session,' Rhoden said. He did not divulge a specific plan but said it will focus on homeowners who've faced the biggest tax increases. 'For the last several years, the overall property tax burden has already shifted' to homeowners, Rhoden said. Numbers from the state Department of Revenue prove the point. South Dakota's method for assessing the value of agricultural land changed from market-based to productivity-based during an implementation period that concluded in 2019. That year, agricultural property owners paid 27% of all property taxes while homeowners paid 39%. Since then, the burden has shifted to 20% for agriculture and 44% for homeowners. The share paid by commercial property owners has risen from 29% to 31%. The remaining share comes from utilities and special assessments. Rhoden said there are complicating factors, such as the continual addition of more homes and businesses while the number of farms and the amount of agricultural land decline. He said that's one reason for the shrinking burden of ag-land owners. But he acknowledged that the housing market of the past several years has driven prices and valuations up sharply for some homeowners, leading to successive years of extreme tax increases. 'And so rather than take a shotgun approach with some of the proposals that would affect us statewide, given the situation we're in, I feel very confident that we need to take a rifle shot,' Rhoden said. The governor gave no indication if he'd endorse a plan previously proposed by his new lieutenant governor, Tony Venhuizen, when Venhuizen was a legislator. That plan called for an increase in the state sales tax rate to provide property tax relief for homeowners. Video footage of Gov. Larry Rhoden's full press conference on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Courtesy of SDPB)
