CPB Awards 4 Public Media Stations Grants for Next Generation Warning System

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 16, 2024) – Delta College Public Media in Michigan, Community Radio Project, Inc. in Colorado, and KSTK Stikine River Radio and Silakkuagvik Communications’ KBRW in rural Alaska have been awarded funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to upgrade their equipment to provide enhanced emergency alerting. CPB awards the grants through the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“Public media stations have always played a vital role in emergency alerting in communities across the country,” said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “The Next Generation Warning System grant program is providing funding for public media organizations, especially in rural areas, to replace and upgrade their technology and infrastructure that enhances critical alerting and warning capabilities to help protect those communities.” 

In 2022, FEMA selected CPB to establish and administer the NGWS grant program to help public media stations across the country create a more resilient and secure public alerting system. The program funds public media stations to upgrade their equipment and receive training to enhance alerting and warning capabilities, including the ability to use NextGen TV broadcast technology and comparable digital broadcast technology for radio stations. The program prioritizes public media stations serving rural, Tribal, and underserved communities.

“FEMA is committed to building resilience by rapidly disseminating emergency communications to the public through diverse integrated pathways,” said FEMA IPAWS Director Manny Centeno. “FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) provides a suite of tools and resources for local authorities to effectively send emergency communications to the public. We continue developing the Next Generation Warning System concept as we improve continuity and leverage new technologies, such as ATSC 3.0, that can reach the public wherever they are.”

The following four grants are part of $34 million in FY 2022 funding that CPB is awarding over two years:

• Delta College Public Media’s WDCQ-TV, serving a largely rural and underserved audience in the crook of Michigan’s thumb, will receive up to $976,708 to replace broadcast infrastructure, making the station more resilient and be ready to transition to NextGen TV standards.
• Community Radio Project (KZET-FM, KSJD-FM, and KICO-FM), serving rural, underserved, and tribal communities in the Four Corners area of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, will receive up to $54,750 for equipment, including new transmitters and backup power supplies, to ensure that stations stay on the air during an emergency.
• KSTK Stikine River Radio (CoastAlaska, Inc), a community radio station serving Wrangell, Shoemaker Bay and North Wrangell Island, will receive up to $90,002 to improve its Emergency Alert System in the community and outlying remote areas. They will replace aging equipment, including a backup generator at their transmitter site, an EAS decoder replacement, and a translator replacement for rural, tribal and underserved communities in Alaska.
• Silakkuagvik Communications Inc. KBRW, serving a large Inupiat Eskimo population at the northernmost tip of Alaska, will receive up to $98,853 to update critical equipment to ensure a dependable connection to their listeners and a reliable source of emergency messages.

About the NGWS Grant Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded CPB a total of $96 million in FY 2022 and FY 2023-appropriated funds to establish and implement the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program. CPB is administering a competitive grant program for public television and public radio stations to replace and upgrade infrastructure to expand alert, warning, and interoperable communications, creating a more resilient and secure public alerting system. For more information, visit cpb.org/NGWS or email us at ngws@cpb.org.

About CPB
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide. CPB is also the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio, television, and related online services. For more information, visit cpb.org, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe for email updates.