Paonia’s KVNF resilient despite future without federal funding
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PAONIA, Colo. — Cynthia Hines is from Crawford, a tiny town in Delta County.
Every week for 27 years, she has made the half-hour drive to Paonia to be a DJ on KVNF community radio.
Despite the defunding of public media, she's not stopping any time soon.
Video: Joshua Vorse, Rocky Mountain PBS
"When the administration very clearly says we're pulling this funding because we don't like what they say, it’s such an egregious violation of our Constitution, that it makes me want to pick up my hoe and riot," said Hines of the dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributed federal funds to public media stations like KVNF.
In July, Congressional Republicans, at President Donald Trump’s request, passed a bill that rescinded more than $1 billion from CPB, funds that would have been distributed to public media stations across the county.
The 40-year-old station in Paonia lost about $162,000, or 20% of its budget, in the cuts.
General manager Ashley Krest had been bracing for the news all summer, and had a plan to make up the difference in the station's budget. They held an extra pledge drive, are on the lookout for more substantial grants, and are searching for new major donors, Krest said.
In early August, Hines and other DJs went on the air asking for $50,000. They doubled their goal during the two-day drive, stabilizing the budget for this year.
"It's not just this year, it's three years more and maybe beyond that,” Krest said, “so how we do it year over year is going to be a real test to this station and to our audience."
The station has an eight-person staff and 80 volunteer DJs. It would be difficult to cut 20 percent of the already lean operation, Krest said.
Along with popular music programming, the station provides vital local news to a region sometimes overlooked by media outlets in Grand Junction and Montrose. When a wildfire started July 10 near Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Hines said she tuned in to KVNF to learn if she needed to evacuate from her place in Crawford. She didn’t have to leave, but was grateful to feel informed by the station.
“Community matters — I know people who live in cities that don't know their neighbors, and we do — and we're there for each other,” said Hines.
“I think that that kind of connection needs to be nurtured and fostered and expanded for the sake of the country, and the culture,” she continued.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.