Last week, a donor walked into the Montana PBS offices in Bozeman and handed staff a $50,000 check. Before that, another person came with a $10,000 check in hand, station director Aaron Pruitt said.

Those high-dollar donations came because the federal government recently cut funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which finances public media stations nationwide. The CPB then announced Aug. 1 it would be cutting most jobs by Sept. 30 and ceasing operations early next year due to the loss of funding.

Since Congress passed those cuts, stations across Montana have seen a windfall of donations, but staff are still concerned about the years to come once the funding cuts aren't as top of mind for donors.

Montana PBS, Yellowstone Public Radio and Montana Public Radio have all ra

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