Powerful winds swept through Highmore, South Dakota early in the morning on June 29, 2026, leaving widespread property damage and power outages in their wake.
Within minutes of the storm hitting, Venture Communications stepped up to the challenge of maintaining network availability.
The storm brought straight-line winds estimated at 130 mph, comparable to an EF2 tornado. Homes and businesses were impacted, including damage to Venture’s own central office in Highmore.
But despite the widespread disruption, Venture’s network stayed online.
Customers who experienced service interruptions did so only because of power outages affecting their homes, rather than a disconnection from the network.
For Venture Communications, that reliability is the result of careful planning, a resilient network and a team committed to serving the communities that depend on them.
“We take very seriously the fact that we are the underlying infrastructure,” said Fay Jandreau, CEO and general manager of Venture. “If our network goes down, not only are our customers primary communication methods disabled, but cell towers can’t connect to the network either. We have to be pretty diligent about that.”
Venture serves nearly 13,000 customers across approximately 10,000 square miles, providing voice, video and broadband services throughout the region. With nearly 9,000 miles of fiber in the ground, maintaining network availability is a responsibility the company takes seriously.
Rapid response
The storm moved through the area shortly after 6:15 a.m., bringing powerful winds that prompted immediate action from Venture’s leadership team.
Sheltering in their basements while the wind was still blowing, Jandreau and his team established communication. By 6:35 a.m., leadership had begun assessing the situation and confirmed that Venture’s central office in Highmore had lost power.
The central office is a critical part of network operations, making the power issue a top priority. The team quickly worked through a transfer switch issue, restoring generator power to the facility by 7:20 a.m.
At 7:30 a.m., leadership held a strategic call to determine next steps. Incoming customer calls were routed to an answering service, and the Highmore office was officially closed by 8:04 a.m. to allow employees to focus on their families, homes and safety.
“All employees were accounted for,” Jandreau said. “Our first priority was making sure our people were safe.”
That priority was especially important because many Venture employees were personally impacted by the storm. Several faced with caring for family members and damage to their own homes, including broken windows, missing roofs, loss of vehicles, water intrusion and property scattered across the prairie.
Protecting the network through the unexpected
Later that evening, Venture encountered another challenge.
Around 8 p.m., a critical fiber link went down. The fiber connection, located 60–70 miles from the Highmore office, provided an important layer of backup for Venture’s network.
While customers were not experiencing service degradation, Jandreau explained that the loss of the backup link created additional vulnerability at a time when the team was already managing storm damage and operating the central office on generator power.
“If we lose Highmore, we can use the backup to reroute traffic through Hitchcock up to Sisseton,” Jandreau explained. “What made that fiber cut so relevant at the time is that we had the Highmore office already crippled on a generator. We had a couple strikes against us, and we were just a couple bad things happening from absolutely needing that.”
Venture immediately dispatched a team to address the issue. The fiber cut was identified at approximately 8:30 p.m. and repairs were completed by 9:30 p.m.
For an industry where fiber restoration can often take significantly longer, Jandreau noted the speed of the repair was exceptional.
“I’ve never heard of one being repaired in an hour,” he said.
A team effort
While Venture’s network design played an important role in maintaining connectivity, Jandreau emphasized that the people behind the network were the true reason the response succeeded.
“I’m so proud of our team. I think character is revealed in moments of need,” Jandreau said.
Many members of Venture’s leadership team and staff were dealing with the impact of the storm on their own properties, but they prioritized working to ensure customers and communities remained connected.
“In this situation, 100% of my leadership team had personal issues, but they set their needs aside to make sure Venture was operating in a way that we could sustain communications for everyone.”
Venture’s team worked together to maintain operations, process customer needs and support the communities they serve. Employees handled critical business functions, including day-to-day customer requests and service needs, all while balancing the challenges facing their own families.
Jandreau said the response reflected the culture Venture has built.
“In my opinion, that’s pretty phenomenal performance and character, and it speaks to the level of service we provide,” he said.
As a cooperative, that support extended beyond Venture’s own team.
Following the storm, sister companies from across South Dakota reached out to offer assistance, including employees, trucks, equipment and generators if needed.
“I had dozens of messages from sister companies around the state — what do you need, how can we help?” Jandreau said. “Do you need people? Trucks? Generators?”
The response demonstrates the strength of collaboration across South Dakota’s telecommunications industry, with companies stepping forward to support one another during a critical moment.
“That’s not just Venture, that’s the entire telecommunications industry in South Dakota,” Jandreau said. “When someone steps forward like that, it’s so impressive.”
Restoring stability
After operating on generator power through Monday, Venture’s Highmore office returned to commercial power the following morning, thanks to the quick response of Northwestern Public Service.
Later that week, additional severe weather impacted Huron, where Venture continued monitoring and maintaining operations. That location operated on generator power until electricity was restored Saturday morning, and once again, no service was disrupted.
Through dedicated communication, around-the-clock coordination and the commitment of employees across the organization, Venture maintained the network availability its customers depend on.
