The Elko Television District’s programming and translator committee heard from Laurie Gilbert and Gina Holmberg about KNCC (a local NPR-affiliated station operating with KUNR) and discussed potential district assistance after federal funding cuts reduced KNCC’s operating funds.

Laurie Gilbert and Gina Holmberg, a Spring Creek High School multimedia teacher who volunteered to help, explained KNCC’s funding shortfall and said the station would provide a proposal outlining potential financial needs and operational assistance. The committee agreed to forward KNCC’s proposal to the district’s budget committee for analysis and recommendation.

Committee members also discussed options to support local news and programming: establishing a local news channel (current moratorium on low-power TV licenses limits some options), partnering with a class-A commercial station for content inserts, working with Lovelock PBS on a translator and program inserts, and using social media and local publications to promote over-the-air TV availability. The committee discussed advertising/underwriting constraints for public broadcasters: they cannot sell traditional ads but can acknowledge donors and underwriters within public-broadcasting rules.

Staff and board members noted no formal budget decision was made; the budget committee will review KNCC’s written proposal when it is delivered and bring a recommendation to the full board if funding is pursued.

Ending: the committee will continue outreach to potential partners, receive the KNCC proposal and expect the budget committee to evaluate financial feasibility before any board-level funding action.