In South Dakota, public media endures a year after federal funding was wiped out

NPR | By David Folkenflik

Published July 22, 2026 at 5:21 PM EDT

We check in on one state public broadcasting network a year after President Trump signed a law ending federal funding of public media.

David Folkenflik

David Folkenflik was described by Geraldo Rivera of Fox News as "a really weak-kneed, backstabbing, sweaty-palmed reporter." Others have been kinder. The Columbia Journalism Review, for example, once gave him a "laurel" for reporting that immediately led the U.S. military to institute safety measures for journalists in Baghdad.

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