Congress has approved the Trump administration’s $9 billion rescission package. The bill includes cuts that affect public media in Iowa, including Siouxland Public Media, Iowa PBS and Iowa Public Radio.
The bill cuts more than $1 billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that had been allocated previously to fund it for the next two years. That loss of funding will affect more than a thousand local NPR and PBS stations in the nation.
Siouxland Public Media General Manager Mark Munger said the CPB grant made up about 20 percent of the station’s operational budget in 2024.
“The loss of CPB funding comes as a series blow to our station and the system we are a part of, which has carried forth the guarantee that all Americans have access to the highest quality programming and information. We will continue to pursue our mission as best we can and remain committed to our community,” Munger said.
Andrew Batt is the general manager of Iowa PBS, and said the rescission paring marks the largest cut in the organization’s 55-year history.
Congress approved the bill largely along party lines early Friday morning. It is now awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature.
*The RAGBRAI bike event will bring thousands of riders through Northwest Iowa for three days, when it begins in Orange City on Sunday.
The Register’s Great Annual Bike Ride will move from Orange City to other overnight stops in Milford and then Estherville on Monday.
Milford Mayor Steve Anderson set the scene for RAGBRAI preparations, saying “we are ready," for 14,000 or more riders – and thousands more supporters – to come through Milford in Dickinson County.
"I've never seen a challenge this community can't meet," Anderson said of the local people who will welcome bicyclists with food tents, places to camp, and more.
He noted that RAGBRAI had Milford as an overnight stop once previously, in 2014. That year, RAGBRAI people camped in places other than Milford, but Anderson said there are enough camping spots in town this time.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Krull said county road A-34 coming into Milford on Sunday afternoon is going to be a busy road that drivers may want to avoid.
On the way from Milford to Estherville, a RAGBRAI route for the first time with route for some miles Minnesota.
*Additionally, it appears that money the federal government has been holding back from the Sioux City School District and other schools nationally could soon be released.
Last week, District Superintendent Juan Cordova told Siouxland Public Media News that he was concerned with about $7 million being “frozen.” Funding that is used for English Language Learners, professional development and migratory programs is being held for review by federal education officials.
That money that typically goes out to schools for their new budget years on July 1, and it totals nearly $7 billion nationally.
Sioux City School District Spokeswoman Leslie Heying on Friday said some of those funds appear imminent to be released. She said Cordova will share more information on that federal funding at the next school board meeting on July 21.
*In another piece involving lessened federal funding, both the University of Iowa and Iowa State are reporting big hits to their research funding compared to last year.
Both schools released data on their external sources of funding for research. The University of Iowa says it received over $530 million dollars, down from $683 million the previous year, for roughly a 22 percent drop.
The federal government is the university’s biggest overall supporter, providing 43 percent of its total funding.
Iowa State’s losses were less significant, but still substantial. This year ISU secured $330 million for research, compared to $346 million last year.
Iowa State’s vice president for research said in a press release the federal funding landscape has evolved more rapidly than university officials imagined. The Trump administration has recently taken aim at research grants and proposed cuts to national research agencies.
*In other news, the Sioux City Council members are moving closer to hiring a new city manager.
Former longtime city manager Bob Padmore retired in April, and on Thursday the city released the names of three men who are finalists.
Those include Eric Swanson, who is currently the interim city manager/city manager at Phoenix, Oregon, Andrew Barden, the city administrator of Winterset, Iowa, and Craig Clark, who is the executive director, City of Austin Port Authority, Minnesota.
The process towards hiring a new city manager, perhaps by August, involves public interview sessions.
Those will take place during special council meetings at city hall on July 24 and July 25. City residents are encouraged to come pose questions during those sessions.
