911 Dispatchers get a boost in telecommunication thanks to a state radio update

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Law enforcement and other emergency responders will have better radio access in the Black Hills thanks to new radio tower coverage.

$2.4 million was allocated by the 2021 legislature for the purchase of new radio equipment.... and Pennington County spent $600,000 of those funds to find tower locations and oversee the construction of the new towers.

In June of 2022, the project was completed and now provides better access to radio coverage for emergency responders in the central Pennington County area.

Pennington County 9-1-1 director Kevin Karley says dispatch now has better radio signals to communicate with operators ... instead of having to use their cellphones.

Karley states “Typically, we are able to get those calls dispatched quickly, but then once they get on scene in those areas. Once first responders got on the scene that is when we would have a tough time being able to communicate with them over the radio. They would a lot of times go to their cellphones because they would actually a better cell coverage in those areas than they would had on their radio so, now we have solved that problem in most of those areas.”

The expansion covers Hill City ... Rockerville ... Keystone, an area near The Seth Bullock Lookout Tower.

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