Grants fill funding gap for public broadcaster in Talkeetna

Recent federal cuts to funding for public broadcasting have left many news outlets scrambling for survival.

In its fourth decade of bringing local news and local voices to the airwaves for local listeners who can’t get that anywhere else, Talkeetna Community Radio Inc. was one of those broadcasters facing a devastating loss of funding. A nonprofit organization doing business as public radio station KTNA in Talkeetna, the outlet has been fostering community identity and connection in the Upper Susitna Valley since its first broadcast in 1993.

Since then, the station – which can be found at 88.9 on the FM dial or streamed from the website – has grown and evolved in many ways, becoming an essential resource for the community.

Listeners from Willow to Cantwell get a wide variety of programming 24 hours every day, drawing from National Public Radio and other program distributors. Beyond national news and cultural programs, KTNA offers local news, educational and informative programming, music with local DJs, and continuous emergency broadcast capacity.

But keeping residents up to date with information and entertained with stories of local people comes with a hefty price tag. Phillip Manning, KTNA’s general manager, said until last summer, when the federal funds were cut, KTNA received more than half of its annual funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

“The loss of that funding dealt a major blow to stations across the country, especially in rural areas that rely on those stations the most,” he said. “KTNA is the only broadcaster in the Upper Susitna Valley. Our listeners rely on us to share information that is relevant to their lives.”

A combination of grants from the Mat-Su Health Foundation, which provided $300,000 over the next three years, Alaska Community Foundation, and Public Media Bridge Fund have filled the financial gap, allowing KTNA staff and board of directors to shift planning focus from short-term survival to longer-term vision for operations going forward.

“The loss of federal funding presented a potential existential threat to stations like KTNA,” Manning said. “The station's fiscal outlook for the next few years is now much more stable.”

The Mat-Su Health Foundation has been making this kind of investment in community health and wellness since its inception in 2007, when it became part owner of the the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. The Health Foundation returns a share of its hospital profits to the community in the form of scholarships, sponsorships, and grants to nonprofits across the Valley. Since its first grant in 2008, that investment totals more than $160 million.

In addition to his role at KTNA, Manning has served on the boards of two other area nonprofits. So he has seen the value of what the Health Foundation brings to Mat-Su residents.

“In recent years, the Mat-Su Health Foundation has had a huge impact on nonprofits across the Northern Valley,” he said. “In the case of KTNA, the Health Foundation is playing a major role in keeping the Northern Valley's only newsroom on the air and ensuring the continued survival of a community radio station that has been on the air for more than three decades.”

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