Information Station Specialists was roped into setting up a portable EventCast Radio System at the annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup in South Dakota on Sept. 26. The event — which entails cowboys wrangling 1,300 buffalo — is indeed quite the spectacle … and the catalyst of some gnarly traffic jams.
Bill Baker, founder of Information Station Specialists, writes: “Imagine 25,000 visitors navigating a web of two-lane roads to a pair of parking lots on the prairie to view the spectacle which begins at dawn and is done by dinnertime.” Baker says, to alleviate some of the chaos, this year the state used the licensed radio service on AM 1700 as a means of herding two-legged attendees in and out of the event safely. He shared the following story with Radio World. Enjoy!
Thursday evening on Sept. 25, Information Station Specialists set up a temporary Travelers Information Station [TIS] to provide a program for visitors to the annual Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup near Rapid City, S.D. This year, for the event’s 60th, there were nearly 30,000 on hand to watch the 1,300 bison thunder in from the wild to receive their vaccinations and evaluations.
Technicians set up the radio system the day before and allowed it to run overnight because people arrive before dawn and line up on the two-lane roads that approach the park. The signal radius was 5–10 miles, blanketing park roads that lead visitors to one of two parking areas.
I had sand-bagged the legs of the antenna stand AND used three guy lines. How could a temporary antenna be more stable on a calm, fall evening? But when we arrived at 4:30 a.m. [on the day of the roundup], to our horror, there was no signal to greet us. Incredibly, the antenna was located by flashlight, laying flat on the ground, and there was (obviously) minimal signal.
Park staff determined it likely that a bison did not cotton to the unfamiliar orange cones and guy lines and attacked them, chewing though a line and toppling the antenna with much “intentionality.” Once re-erected, the FCC-licensed signal on AM 1700 was again robust in time to inform visitors. But that did not prevent the creature from bolting out of the woods again when TV personnel attempted to set up a camera in an adjacent area.
Cowboys on horseback showed up in time to see the animal charging past technicians between the production trucks before being successfully “corralled.” Calm again prevailed.
The Roundup’s TIS broadcast was unique, and included recorded greetings from South Dakota’s governor and the superintendent of the state’s game, fish and parks, interspersed with helpful parking and event information provided by park staff.
The broadcast also included a feed of live commentary provided by South Dakota Public Broadcasting commentators, and an airing of a live press conference with the governor and the superintendent that followed the roundup.
When it was time to “head ‘em up and move ‘em out,” recordings were changed [back to traffic programming] to help the buffalo faithful make an efficient exit.
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