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Daniels County outlines radio trunking upgrade, flags dead zones and tower options
Summary
County officials reported an expected December–April rollout for a new radio trunking system with Motorola and Red Tail, discussed persistent "last-mile" dead zones and options to improve coverage by moving equipment to higher sites or leasing space on existing towers.
Daniels County officials updated commissioners on a planned radio trunking upgrade and cutover timeline and described remaining coverage gaps that will need targeted fixes.
Project staff said Motorola and Red Tail are scheduled to perform installation and that the county's anticipated schedule targets December for initial deliveries and April for a full cutover. Officials described the upgrade as necessary to move dispatch and field radios onto the state trunking system and to stop duplicate manual processes in the county's computer-aided dispatch (CAD) workflow.
Participants acknowledged persistent "last-mile" dead zones between repeater sites — particularly around Flaxville, Whitetail and some county hilltops — and discussed pragmatic mitigation options: connecting fiber where feasible, adding microwave links, installing repeaters at higher sites north of Flaxville, or leasing mount space on existing Nemont or MDU towers. Commissioners emphasized cost-effectiveness and the ability to abandon or repurpose interim solutions if they underperform.
The board requested a clearer delineation of responsibilities between vendors and county staff for installation tasks and said it wants to ensure the county's inventory and tower-site paperwork are reconciled before major equipment moves. Commissioners also discussed moving county radio equipment out of a water tower and into an existing 12x8 county shelter north of Flaxville to reduce risk from leaks and weather exposure.
Next steps: staff will pursue options to patch dead zones (fiber, microwave or repeater placement), confirm which vendor supplies which installation tasks, and present cost estimates for site work and any leasing fees.
