NEWS
RELEASE
United States Department
of Agriculture • Rural Development
3001 Coolidge Rd. • 2nd Floor North • Suite 200 • East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: (517) 324-5204 • Fax: (517) 324-5225 •
alec.lloyd@mi.usda.gov
USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT AWARDS ALMOST $5 MILLION FOR PUBLIC TV DIGITAL TELEVISION GRANTS
Funding to Assist with Digital Television Conversion in Rural Communities
WASHINGTON, Aug. 19, 2008 - Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr today announced nearly $5 million in public television digital transition grants to fund 19 projects in 18 states.
“Public television stations are a vital link to rural communities, providing local news, emergency and educational programming,” Dorr said. “The funding announced today will ensure that rural citizens continue to receive essential public broadcasting.”
Redwood Empire Public Television, Inc. (KEET) in Eureka, Calif., has been selected to receive a $389,000 grant to finance analog-to-digital conversion of the station’s master control facility. This will allow KEET to add high-definition programming and additional channels that will be used in distance learning, training and emergency information. KEET provides the only public television signal to California’s northern coast and the five largest indigenous tribes within the state: Karuk, Jupa, Yorok, Wiyot and Tolowa.
In Mt. Pleasant, Mich., Central Michigan University has been selected to receive $750,000 to finance the replacement of obsolete and failing analog equipment with digital production equipment, including cameras, editing, mixing and storage equipment. The project will complete the outfitting of a satellite uplink truck into a self-contained mobile production studio.
Funding awarded through the Digital Public Television grant program also may be used for engineering and environmental studies associated with the transition to digital television. The following is a complete list of groups selected to receive grant awards. Funding of individual recipients is contingent upon their meeting the conditions of the grant agreement.
|
Recipient |
State |
Grant Amount |
|
Arkansas Educational Television Commission |
AR, MO |
$599,628 |
|
Redwood Empire Public Television, Inc.(KEET) |
CA, OR |
$389,000 |
|
Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission |
GA, NC, SC |
$165,500 |
|
Washburn University of Topeka |
KS |
$143,915 |
|
Central Michigan University |
MI |
$750,000 |
|
Missouri State University |
MI, KS, OK |
$174,952 |
|
Northern Michigan University |
MI, WI |
$633,231 |
|
West Central Minnesota Educational Television Company |
MN |
$276,500 |
|
Prairie Public Broadcasting, Inc. |
ND |
$330,849 |
|
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission |
NE, KS |
$258,925 |
|
Oklahoma Educational Television Authority |
OK |
$645,425 |
|
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |
OR |
$181,895 |
|
Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television Association (WVIA) |
PA |
$115,980 |
|
South Dakota Board of Directors for Educational Telecommunications |
SD |
$60,685 |
|
University of Utah |
UT |
$78,745 |
|
University of Utah |
UT |
$78,745 |
|
University of Utah |
UT |
$27,940 |
|
University of Utah |
UT |
$20,085 |
|
Bates Technical College/KBTC Public Television |
WA |
$33,000 |
USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested more than $90 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 1.7 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.
#