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Fallon County faces recurring public‑TV outages after windstorm; staff to pursue internet feeds and revised antenna plan
Summary
County TV/DES channels lost several Rapid City feeds after a December windstorm; staff reported some channels are stable via internet relay but MeTV and other Rapid City channels remain down. Engineering will explore internet connections and a revised Brackett Butte/Plevna/Baker antenna layout to restore coverage.
Fallon County staff briefed the commission on ongoing problems with the county’s public broadcasting relay and a proposed technical approach to restore and expand reliable coverage.
A December windstorm damaged infrastructure feeding several Rapid City channels; staff said some stations were restored but MeTV and other Rapid City feeds remain unavailable. Engineers have replaced in‑building cabling and inspected antennas but the county continues to experience intermittent reception for a subset of channels. The TV/DES coordinator reported that internet relay links for certain channels (NBC/CBS via Miles City) have been stable and recommended pursuing similar internet‑based feeds for Rapid City stations as a more weather‑resilient option.
Engineering proposed a revised coverage plan that would use two Brackett Butte antennas (north and south) plus a Baker site and Plevna relay to reach 75–90% of the county with fewer new antennas and at lower cost than prior plans. Commissioners stressed that the immediate priority is to get currently purchased channels reliably on air before any further expansion. Staff scheduled a technical call with the county’s engineer to review coverage maps and potential internet feed contracts.
Next steps: staff to pursue internet‑feed options with regional affiliates (Miles City, Bismarck or Rapid City), continue engineering work to stabilize existing signals and present a costed proposal for the antenna changes.
