KWSO Funding Update

This article was in the most recent edition of the Spilyay Tymoo newspaper

KWSO, a public radio station owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes, KWSO 91.9 FM, has been able to secure funding for 2026 after the loss of Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding earlier this year.  Federal funding for public media was eliminated by the federal government and funding already allocated was rescinded for next year.  KWSO has benefited from CPB’s Community Service Grant for the past 20 years.

A one-time allocation of $240,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, has been awarded to KWSO – which is the amount of funding they would have gotten from CPB. The $240,000 accounts to about 40-percent of KWSO’s average annual operating budget, said Sue Matters, station manager. Another 40-percent is through the tribes; and 20-percent from underwriting, membership contributions and a tower lease. “We’re getting contributions from across the country, plus the Northwest and Oregon especially,” Ms. Matters said. “So we are in pretty good shape.”

Earlier this year, when the administration eliminated the CPB funding, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, worked to protect tribal radio stations that were initially included in the CPB cuts. “In the initial request, tribal radio stations were caught in the cross fire,” Sen. Rounds said.  Eliminating CPB funding would have wiped out as much as 92 percent of the budgets for some tribal stations, Rounds said. Working with the administration, he helped secure $9.4 million in reallocated federal funding to ensure tribal radio stations across 11 states could continue operating.

The money was redirected from unused climate-related funds, and is distributed through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The money is intended for the stations that had received CPB community service grants.

Prior to the confirmation of BIA funding, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Branch of Health & Human Services committed to filling any funding gaps in 2026, to support KWSO, with the caveat that the radio station continues to seek additional funding from other sources.  Additional support from foundations, business and individuals is adding up.  Matters says “it looks like we can continue with current programming, staffing and operations for at least the next 3 years.”

The mission of KWSO radio is to provide Warm Springs with quality radio programming and online content that: delivers local news and information; promotes education, cultural knowledge and language preservation; and increases awareness of social, health and safety issues.

KWSO went on the air in September 1986. Initially the station was located at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort but moved into the Warm Springs Media Center in 2009.  KWSO is a department within the Tribe’s Health & Human Services Branch.