U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (center) and tribal leaders speak to the media after a public safety roundtable on Aug. 14, 2024, in Wagner, South Dakota. With Rounds, from left, are Cheyenne River Chairman Ryman LeBeau, Lower Brule Chairman Clyde Estes, Sisseton Wahpeton Secretary Curtis Bissonette, Wayne Boyd of Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Yankton Chairman Robert Flying Hawk, Oglala President Frank Star Comes out and Crow Creek Chairman Peter Lengkeek. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

WASHINGTON — Tribal radio stations that are supposed to receive millions to fill the hole created when Congress eliminated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting haven’t heard anything from the Trump administration about when it will send the money or how much in grants they’ll receive.

Unlike most government spending deals, the handshake agreement South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds negotiated with the White House budget director in exchange for Rounds’ vote on the rescissions bill wasn’t placed in the legislation, so it never became law. 

Instead, Rounds is trusting the Trump administration to move $9.4 million in funding from an undisclosed account to more than two dozen tribal radio stations in rural areas of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wisconsin that receive community service grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

But neither Rounds’ office, the Office of Management and Budget, nor the Bureau of Indian Affairs responded to emails from States Newsroom asking when the grants would be sent to those radio stations and whether the funding levels would be equal to what they currently receive. 

Loris Taylor, president and CEO of Native Public Media, a network of more than 60 broadcast stations that’s headquartered in Arizona, said she’s written to Rounds and the Bureau of Indian Affairs about the handshake deal reached in July but hasn’t heard back. 

“I can’t place my expectations on something that hasn’t been concretely shared with the stations,” Taylor said. “And so all I can say is that our expectations are to raise money for the stations to make sure that they have operational dollars for FY 2026, and that’s exactly where we’re placing our focus.”

Taylor pointed out that Rounds’ informal deal with White House budget director Russ Vought doesn’t cover all of the tribal stations in the network and will only last for one year, leaving questions about long-term budgeting.

An Interior Department spokesperson wrote in an email after this story originally published that “Indian Affairs has received a list of 37 stations and is working to distribute about $9.4 million in funding to support them. 

“We know how important these stations are for public safety and are moving quickly to get the money out. Before we can set a timeline, we need to coordinate with the stations, tribes and other partners to ensure the funds are delivered efficiently and meet the needs of Indian Country. We will share updates when we have more to share publicly.”

The spokesperson did not provide a list of those stations or information on how the department plans to divvy up the funding. 

‘The little stations like us’  

Dave Patty, general manager at KIYU-FM in Galena, Alaska, said he isn’t planning to receive any federal funding during the upcoming fiscal year, in part because he hasn’t heard anything from the administration. The 2026 federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

“Well, I certainly can’t budget anything that I don’t know is coming, so I’m definitely not planning for it now,” he said. 

President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers’ decision to eliminate all funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because of their belief of left-leaning bias at National Public Radio wasn’t the right way to address those frustrations, Patty said. 

“The narrative was definitely centered around NPR and that was definitely wrong because NPR aren’t the ones in trouble,” he said. “NPR is well funded from philanthropists all over the country, and as a mothership, NPR is not going anywhere. It’s the little stations like us that are going to go away because, for instance, about 60% of our budget came from the CPB grant.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced in early August it will shutter most of its operations by the end of September, with some staff working through January. 

NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service have made no such announcements, but local stations throughout the country have announced budget cuts since Congress approved the bill rescinding $1.1 billion in funding it previously approved for CPB. That money was supposed to cover costs during fiscal 2026 and 2027. 

Lawsuit feared 

Karl Habeck, general manager at WOJB in Hayward, Wisconsin, said he’s only heard “gossip” and “rumors” about how exactly the handshake agreement will work in practice but is concerned that someone may challenge the Trump administration’s authority to move money around since it wasn’t in the bill and never became law. 

“What gives them the right to take these funds that were allocated for environmental projects and send them towards Native American radio stations?” Habeck said. 

Typically, the administration would need sign-off from appropriators in Congress before moving large sums of money from one account to another. 

Officials haven’t said publicly where exactly they plan on taking the money from and it’s unclear if the Trump administration is trying to create a new account for grants to rural tribal radio stations out of thin air, without an actual appropriation from Congress. 

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chairwoman of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, and Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, ranking member on the panel, didn’t immediately respond to a request for details.  

Habeck said he expects WOJB will be okay financially for the next year, but that he and many others don’t know what the future will hold after that. 

“It’s going to be hard,” Habeck said. “I guess people don’t understand. You know, they try to compare us to commercial radio and it’s two different things.”

Local broadcasting stations, he said, have fewer employees and are often a nexus for their communities, providing information about everything from lost dogs to emergency alerts to high school sports updates. 

“That doesn’t happen everywhere. It’d be a shame to lose that,” Habeck said. “I think we’re an integral part of the community and people have come to rely on us and appreciate that. And I’m talking everybody. I don’t care what their political stance is. “

A different mission for tribal radio stations

Sue Matters, station manager at KWSO in Warm Springs, Oregon, said she reached out to one of her home-state senators, Ron Wyden, who contacted Rounds’ office to ask how the funding would be allocated and when. But Wyden was unable to share any concrete information.

Matters also spoke with someone she knows at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who was similarly unable to provide information about how the agreement will actually work.

“I’m just assuming there’s not anything,” Matters said, adding she’s now focusing on securing a grant from the bridge fund that’s supposed to help the more at-risk public broadcasting stations.

Tribal stations, she said, often have substantially different missions than commercial stations, focusing on language and cultural programs as well as preserving their traditional life.

“That’s endangered,” Matters said. “We won’t let anything stop us. But it’s sad that for whatever reason this funding has been taken away.”

Thousands march through Portland, Oregon, after speeches from local officials and organizers as part of No Kings Day demonstrations nationwide on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Photo by Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle)

With the nation’s capital hosting multimillion-dollar celebrations and a parade marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s birthday Saturday, huge No Kings demonstrations blanketed the country from coast to coast to protest the president’s actions that have left thousands without jobs and diminished government services.

Mac Farish, who was visiting Topeka, Kansas, from Portland, Oregon, said she felt joy to see hundreds of people attend a No Kings rally in a red state.

“A lot of people here might be lifelong Republicans, but we’re standing here together because there is a line where tyranny shows up,” Farish said.

Protesters rallied at more than 1,500 sites across the country as of mid-afternoon, according to No Kings national organizers, with 600 more events scheduled.

In Arizona, Phoenix resident Cindy Mendoza, 31, came to the Tempe rally with the colors of the Mexican flag painted on her face. She said that her family’s legal status in the country is mixed.

“We’re here to speak for those who can’t speak,” she said. “We love America. We love your people.”

Mendoza said that the recent immigration raids have created fear in her community.

“Some friends in construction … they went to the gas station and they got picked up,” Mendoza said. “They were up early heading to work, they stopped by the gas station to get gas and water, and they were taken.”

Repeated bursts of drenching rain Saturday didn’t deter thousands of Hoosiers amassing at the Indiana Statehouse.

“Our immigrants are not getting their due process and people are being snatched out of their schools and workplaces. We’re worried that equality is not (getting) attention too,” said Rhonda Clair. “We just want people to be treated with dignity and respect and we’re not seeing that.”

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen issued a state of emergency and activated the National Guard ahead of No Kings events, citing the reaction to recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Still, around 2,000 people turned out in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a peaceful protest, and at least 11 other cities were part of the demonstrations statewide.

Trenton Morales, 17, said he came out to protest against the workplace immigration raid in Omaha this week and other similar raids nationally.

“My grandpa recently got deported,” Morales said. “That’s one reason why I’m out here.”

E.J. Martinez Elementary teacher Jennifer Lopez carried a sign in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that read, “I’m here for my students who are living in fear.”

“It’s not only about immigration,” she said. “It’s also trans students; students who have gay parents. It’s all women. We’ve had families who are worried about bringing their kids to school when this all started. We’ll see what it’s like when the school year starts again. I’ve had kids who have had a lot of anxiety about the rights for trans kids being taken away.”

What does she tell them?

“We just have to have hope and to fight,” she said.

In Colorado, Emily Baxter, a 23-year-old Boulder resident, said she also joined the Denver protest to object to the Trump administration’s extreme immigration enforcement actions.

“I am very, very mad about all of the people being taken off of the street and those who are going to work and not coming home and the children who are losing their parents and losing their livelihood,” Baxter said.

The protest comes after multiple demonstrations in Denver against deportation efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including a march to an ICE detention center in Aurora on Monday and a large gathering at the Capitol on Tuesday evening. Law enforcement deployed smoke and pepper balls against a group of protesters that marched near the interchange of Broadway and Interstate 25 on Tuesday and made 18 arrests related to the demonstration.

Thousands rallied peacefully in downtown Anchorage, Alaska, along with at least 18 communities across the state. Community advocates gave speeches calling to protect democracy, equal rights and due process, followed by a march a few blocks to the Park Strip where a Juneteenth celebration was kicking off.

Tessa Gonzalez, a pediatrician, attended the demonstration of thousands at the Statehouse grounds in Columbia, South Carolina. Her 8-year-old daughter and potential cuts to Medicaid moved her family to join the rally. The child has a rare genetic mutation and requires a specialized wheelchair.

“My daughter, 100% depends on Medicaid to provide the medicine, equipment — everything that she needs to lead a happy, healthy life,” Gonzalez said. “So it’s essential.”

Protesters in Georgia evoked the name of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. during a rally near the Gold Dome in Atlanta with signs that read, “Our only king is MLK Jr.!!!” 

Anna Yousaf, an infectious disease doctor who works with vaccines at the CDC, told the Georgia Recorder she came out to oppose Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who she said is undermining public trust in vaccines to deadly effect.

“Disinformation used to be coming from non-governmental sources,” she said. “Now, RFK Jr. is hijacking political organizations like the CDC, like the FDA, and using our name brand, if you will, to spread disinformation. And so people who would ordinarily go to a CDC resource for trusted information, now they’re going to get disinformation from the health secretary of the United States.”

“If he succeeds in his crusade to undermine vaccine confidence and restrict access, we will see thousands of people die, mostly children,” she added.

Massive crowds crossed the Broadway Street bridge in Little Rock, Arkansas, where 15 demonstrations were expected across the state.

“June 14, Flag Day, is when President Donald Trump is holding a military parade in the nation’s capital, wasting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars as a birthday gift to himself while his administration defies checks on his power, undermines our civil rights and tries to strip away essential benefits from veterans, seniors, hungry children and others,” Indivisible NWA, the organizers of the No Kings protest in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said in a press release.

The No Kings protests top off a week of mostly nonviolent demonstrations building around the country in response to ICE raids and in solidarity with Los Angeles, where Trump sent troops in defiance of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was forcibly removed and handcuffed by federal authorities Thursday during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles. Thousands gathered across the city for demonstrations opposing ICE and Trump policies anyway.

In Maine, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree attended a rally in York, handing out red roses to marchers. “People are angry. They want to know what to do, want to do something. They want to fight back,” she said.

Craig Carscallen from Lyman, Maine, said, “I hope it influences our elected officials, if they want to get reelected.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted one message on social media Saturday, not mentioning the crowd outside his office but rather Army anniversary. “As Americans, we carry the sacred duty to remember, to reflect, and to protect the freedoms that generations of our countrymen have fought to secure.”

Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, appeared in Tallahassee and posted video comments on social media. “I’m standing on the Old Capitol steps as hundreds and hundreds of Americans are here showing up today to tell Donald Trump, ‘No Kings in America.’ We’re going to fight for our Constitution, fight for our democracy,” she said.

Saturday’s protests coincided with the 250th anniversary of the Army. A military parade marked the occasion in D.C., where critics have blasted the parade’s cost and optics as Congress weighs the budget reconciliation package that proposes massive cuts to safety net programs.

Earlier this week, Trump said that protests at the Army parade “will be met with very heavy force.”

The U.S. Capitol Police told States Newsroom that protesters were arrested outside the Capitol late Friday after they pushed down bike rack barriers around the building and began running for the Rotunda steps. Veterans for Peace, a group that organized the demonstration, posted photos of the arrests on social media and of several demonstrators wearing “Veterans Against Fascists” t-shirts. Among those arrested was an elderly Vietnam veteran using a walker, Capitol Police confirmed.

Niki Kelly and Whitney Downard of Indiana Capital Chronicle, Ainsley Platt of Arkansas Advocate, Sara Wilson of Colorado Newsline, Corrine Smith of Alaska Beacon, Julia Goldberg of Source New Mexico, Sherman Smith of Kansas Reflector, Ross Williams of Georgia Recorder, Cassandra Stephenson of Tennessee Lookout, Juan Salinas of Nebraska Examiner, Michael Moline of Florida Phoenix, Jessica Holdman of South Carolina Daily Gazette, Jerod MacDonald-Avoy, Gloria Rebecca Gomez and Emily Holshouser of Arizona Mirror, and Jane Norman of States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.