Ice storm brings down two broadcast towers near Garden City (Audio)
December 14, 2022
Mike Tanner
GARDEN CITY , S..D.–This week’s ice storm is to blame for taking down two broadcast towers just north of Garden City.
An 1,800 foot tower owned by the parent company of KDLO Television came down just before nine o’clock Wednesday morning.
A short time later, a second nearby tower, which was 800 feet tall, also collapsed.
KDLO-FM Radio was leasing transmitter space on the taller of the two towers to broadcast its signal. Bruce Erlandson is a longtime radio engineer and employee of Watertown Radio. He visited the site to survey the damage…
The combination of ice buildup and wind can have a devestating impact on broadcast towers…
When the towers collapsed, two buildings underneath them were struck by the falling metal…
An immediate damage estimate was not available, but it’ll be very expensive to replace what was lost…
Replacing the towers will take a lot of money, and a lot of time…
KDLO-FM was back on the air Wednesday afternoon when it switched to broadcasting from a backup tower just south of Watertown.
There will be reduced signal strength and coverage area, but KDLO-FM listeners are reminded that the station can still be heard online by going to www.gowatertown.net. Just find the “listen live” menu for KDLO.
