Officials and board members of South Dakota Public Broadcasting and the Friends of SDPB told the Joint Appropriations Committee that a proposed cut of roughly $3.6 million in state general funds would dramatically reshape public broadcasting across the state.

Ryan Hall, CEO of Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, told the committee the network is a long-standing public-private partnership that produces hundreds of hours of local television and radio and manages SD.net, the state’s public legislative streaming and archive platform. Hall said the network covers about 98% of the state’s geography and provides emergency-alert, legislative streaming and local programming services that local commercial broadcasters and streaming services do not reliably provide statewide.

Hall, executive director Julie Overgaard and Severn (engineer) Ashes explained the potential impacts: staff reductions from roughly 76 FTEs to about 26 by FY 2027; elimination of nearly all local programming such as Dakota Life, legislative coverage and local high-school activities; and a retained pass-through of national NPR/PBS content. Severn Ashes, director of engineering, described SDPB’s role as the state primary for the Emergency Alert System (EAS), operating a 24/7 monitoring and point-to-point microwave network that reaches roughly 98% of the state and activates amber, endangered-person and other state alerts for broadcasters and cable systems.

Committee members pressed on specifics: how reduced state support would affect Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) matching funds (state dollars count toward non‑federal support used in CPB formulas), how fundraising and in‑kind donor revenues would be expected to decline if local programming ends, and which services are at greatest risk. SDPB testimony quantified the cascading impacts: a $3.6 million cut would not only reduce state general funds but would reduce CPB and locally raised funds, shrinking the overall operating budget from about $11 million to approximately $4 million and disproportionately cutting production and outreach staff.

SDPB and partner groups including the South Dakota High School Activities Association, the Educational Telecommunications Board chair Kay Jorgensen, and Friends board chair Gene Ellenson emphasized community benefits of local coverage — high‑school championships, early‑learning materials, legislative archives, and public‑safety alerts — and urged restoration of the proposed cuts. Several civic and education groups described how SDPB’s early-learning videos and broadcast legislative archives are used statewide.

Committee members asked for follow-up materials including engineering maintenance costs, a one‑page history of how lottery and inspection fees were dedicated to the water & environment fund (requested for a different bill), and more detail on CPB matching calculations. No formal committee vote on SDPB funding occurred during the hearing; members deferred further action to future budget deliberations.