By 
Brenda (Farnsworth) Dreyer of Warner worked with Ken Burns when he spent time in South Dakota shooting his Lewis and Clark documentary. Aberdeen Insider photo by Scott Waltman.
Thinking about the importance of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Brenda Dreyer recalls the time she spent with the network.
One highlight was working with Ken Burns when he visited the state for his “Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery” documentary, which was released in 1997.
At the time, Burns had no connections to South Dakota, so he reached out to SDPB, which offered a lot of minority affairs programming. Dreyer helped him make inroads with a crew, resources and especially the Indian tribes. In short, Dreyer said, she worked as a go-between. She and others with SDPB did whatever was needed to help.
Dreyer remembers Burns as quiet, genuine and respectful. It was easy to tell his brain was always racing and he could envision things others couldn’t, she said, but he was willing to learn.
He especially appreciated the South Dakota sunrises and sunsets, said Dreyer, who now lives in Warner.
While spending a week shooting with Burns in Lower Brule was special, SDPB doesn’t have to be helping with big-time programming to prove its worth, she said.
For decades, SDPB’s valuable resources have been used to tell diverse stories about people and topics in every corner of the state, Dreyer said.
“South Dakota has a lot of great stories, but you have to find them,” she said.
That can take time.
A favorite project for Dreyer was a documentary on White Eagle, a Lakota opera singer, which she said was picked up by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and was broadcast nationwide.
Dreyer worked for the network from 1991 until 1997 as a producer and host, first in Brookings, then in Vermillion. She appreciated being able to tell more in-depth stories. A traditional TV newscast, for instance, might have 80 seconds to focus on a topic, if it’s important, she said.
That’s why it’s hard for her to watch SDPB and its counterparts across the nation lose funding.
In July, President Donald Trump cut $1 billion set aside for public media and dissolved the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a move many believe hurts rural areas most.
As a result, South Dakota Public Broadcasting announced in August that it would eliminate 25% of its workforce and no longer offer the shows In the Moment and South Dakota Focus.
“The next Ken Burns maybe won’t have that resource to get started,” Dreyer said, referring to CPB.
Portions of other Burns’ documentaries were also shot in South Dakota, including:
- “Country Music”
- “The Roosevelts”
- “American Buffalo”
- “National Parks”
His “Baseball” documentary featured a brief mention of the Aberdeen Pheasants minor league team.
Dreyer recently attended a partial screening of Burns’ “American Revolution” at the Capitol Theatre in Aberdeen, an event designed to raise money for SDPB. The network and its supporters have been fundraising in hopes of restoring some of the lost jobs and programming.
“Everyone’s trying to do their part to help,” said Dreyer, who went on to work for KELO and South Dakota Farm Bureau and now works in corporate public relations.
Her husband Doug used to work as a photojournalist, but is now in the construction industry.
MORE: South Dakota Public Broadcasting cuts 20 jobs, braces for leaner future
The media landscape is changing quickly these days, and that can be hard to watch, Dreyer said.
“But who knows what’s next for public broadcasting,” she said. “Who knows?”
So far, the SDPB campaign has raised at least 90% of its $2 million goal. For more information or to donate, visit sdpbfriends.org.
