GARDEN CITY, S.D. (KELO) — Viewers in the Aberdeen, Huron and Watertown areas can once again watch KELO-TV over the airwaves. A 1,700-foot tall tower welcomes viewers to tune into KELOLAND-TV by antenna.
The new KDLO tower sits just outside of Garden City, South Dakota in Clark County and will reach viewers within a sixty-mile radius.
“It’s a relief now that we’re finally getting closer to the end where we could get the viewers and the cable area back up and get people watching us,” KELOLAND Chief Engineer Brian Baier said.
Two previous towers were destroyed in an ice storm in December 2022. Since then, crews started building the new tower in 20-foot sections. On Tuesday, crews ran final tests on the tower before going live in the afternoon.
“We’re gathering test data for historical purposes so we have a baseline. So, if something happens to the system down the road, we knew what it looked like when it was brand new,” field service engineer Michael Flood said.
Final touches like lighting still need to be added.
“They have to turn the power off or down depending on how close they are to the antenna. So, there might be some times where that will have to turn it down or turn it lower and that could affect some viewers in the farther outreaches of the reception area,” Baier said.
Baier said those updates shouldn’t impact prime show times.
