May 12: The Transformation of Communication

When settlers arrived on the Great Plains, communication was slow. Mail was delivered by stagecoach and took days to arrive. Mail arrived faster by Pony Express than by stagecoach. Riders galloped from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, making the journey in ten days. The Pony Express did not do well on the northern Great Plains. In 1860, the route ran from Grand Portage in Minnesota through Fargo and out to Medora. It came to a quick end when severe winter weather made the journey virtually impossible.

You can listen to May 12: The Transformation of Communication online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

May 12: The Transformation of Communication is an episode from Dakota Datebook by Prairie Public Broadcasting.

This episode is 2:58 long.

This episode was published on May 12, 2026.

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