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Twin Cities Public Television is furloughing some employees after a U.S. Department of Education grant was terminated. 

TPT's president Sylvia Strobel announced the news in an email to TPT employees. She said the 

 grant was terminated on Friday and that the station is, "exploring a possible appeal." 

The affected employees worked on an animated show called “

,” which is designed to improve children's executive functioning skills and teach them about possible careers. It launched in March, led by childhood development researcher Momo Hayakawa.

on the president's order to end funding for NPR and PBS

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. The Department of Education has awarded such grants every five years since 1995. Renewals beyond five years are contingent on Congressional appropriations.

“Ready To Learn has received strong bipartisan support from Congress and every Administration for the last 30 years because of the programs’ proven educational value in advancing early learning skills for all children,” the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said in a 

. “We will work with Congress and the Administration to preserve funding for this essential program.”

The CPB, which awards federal funding to public media organizations across the country, said it works with dozens of public media stations that also received Ready to Learn funding and have been told to stop that work immediately. 

The news comes as the Trump administration looks to drastically cut federal spending and clamp down on grants that don’t fit its political agenda. President Donald Trump’s 

 calls for $12 billion in cuts to the Department of Education. It also would also eliminate CPB funding if approved by Congress. 

The news also follows an executive order directing the CPB to 

 to PBS and NPR. The outlets have vowed to challenge the order in court. If it stands, stations including TPT would not be able to use federal funding to buy PBS programming, including other PBS Kids shows.

Editor's note (May 6, 2025): MPR News pays NPR for content, and MPR receives money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When reporting on the business of MPR, we do so independently from news executives and do not let them review material before it runs.

Correction (May 14, 2025): A previous version of this story misstated which agency awarded TPT the Ready to Learn grant, and the manner in which the funds were pulled. 

MPR News Staff

Author

Twin Cities Public Television and 44 other public media stations that received funding from the U.S. Department of Education and have been told to stop that work immediately.

entrance to Twin Cities Public Television

TPT announces furloughs after federal grant for kid's show terminated

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