Long Distance Service Restored in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Century Link says customers in South Dakota can again make long-distance land-line phone calls after flooding in Minnesota washed out a fiber optic cable over the weekend.

Century Link spokeswoman Carrie Amann told the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/13m5zv4) that heavy rains in southern Minnesota washed out a railroad line, a gas line and the fiber optic cable that provides the company's South Dakota customers with long distance access.

Amann says the gas line was first to be repaired because of safety reasons. The phone service was restored to South Dakota late Tuesday.

Mystic resident Anne French says the service is important, as she's in an area with no cell phone service and she's far from any major cities.

Century Link serves some 40 cities throughout South Dakota.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.