FEMA lifts hold on Next Generation Warning System grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency released its hold on Next Generation Warning System grants, paving the way for CPB to fund a new batch of projects at five public media organizations.

CPB announced the release of NGWS funds Thursday, noting the end of a 65-day pause on its contractual reimbursements to station grantees. In late February, the corporation told stations to stop work on their NGWS technical upgrades because it could no longer access approximately $38 million in grant funds that had been awarded through the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal year 2022 congressional appropriation. Last month, CPB turned to the courts for relief, suing FEMA to release its hold on the funds. A federal judge denied CPB’s request for a temporary restraining order.

Upon his return to the White House, President Trump authorized the Department of Government Efficiency to cut staff at FEMA and other federal agencies. A FEMA spokesperson told Current in a March email that the agency was “taking swift action” to ensure that “taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and for mission critical efforts.”

The holdup jeopardized stations like KBRW in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, which had already spent money on its NGWS upgrade and requested reimbursements from CPB.

In its Thursday news release, CPB said it worked with FEMA to lift the hold. A spokesperson declined to provide more details on negotiations. Spokespersons for FEMA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

CPB President Pat Harrison praised the decision to restore access: “In times of disaster, the American people need to know they can depend on public media to be there in their communities, providing emergency alerts and essential information,” she said in the news release. “These grants fund critical infrastructure that ensures our stations can warn people to take cover, seek higher ground, and head for safety. Families can feel safer knowing that public media has their safety as a top priority.”

The NGWS program, which CPB has managed since 2023, received congressional appropriations of $40 million in FY22, $56 million in FY23 and $40 million in FY24. The spending bill approved by Congress last month includes an additional $40 million for NGWS in FY25. If included in the final budget package, the FY25 appropriation would bring the federal government’s investment in NGWS to a total of $176 million.

So far, 45 public media stations have been awarded NGWS grants from CPB’s first round of grant-making. Last year, CPB received 175 station applications requesting more than $110 million in the program’s second round. The application window closed in September 2024 for projects that were to be completed by September 2026.

Grants awarded Thursday to five public media organizations total $9.65 million. They support these technical and emergency alert upgrades at four state networks and a Native American station:

• South Dakota Public Broadcasting, which will receive up to $3.4 million to buy and install 12 digital alert encoders/decoders, upgrade ten FM stations so the entire statewide network can transmit in HD radio, and install equipment providing backup redundancy for the radio network in case of an emergency.
• Wyoming PBS, which will receive up to $2.3 million to replace outdated and unreliable equipment at 39 of their 53 locations to ensure timely and accurate emergency alerting across the state.
• Louisiana Public Broadcasting, which was awarded approximately $1.9 million to buy and install transmitters and antennas for KLTL-TV in Lake Charles and KLTM-TV in Monroe and to update alerting equipment to enable statewide delivery of alerts and warning messages.
• PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio will receive up to $1.4 million to buy and install decoders and other equipment that will expand coverage in rural areas, upgrade the emergency alerting and make the Wisconsin Network more resilient.
• KUTE, Inc., licensee of KSUT Tribal Radio in Ignacio, Colo., was awarded up to $537,288 to replace equipment at nine locations and create back-up systems to broadcast emergency information during extended power outages.