Spotty signal prompts 5 new radio towers in Minnehaha County

'We were pretty much using our cellphones.'

A multi-million dollar boost to emergency radio systems in South Dakota’s most populous county means first responders no longer have to use their cellphones to communicate with 911 dispatchers.

Minnehaha County is in the final stages of a multi-year, $3.75 million project to add five new tower locations to its roster of antennas used by law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs when responding to calls in rural areas of its 814-square-mile territory.

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