After being know as the "Cattle Drive and Roundup" for a number of years, the event's name was changed in 1998 to "Roundup at the River." The parade route was now twice as long, starting at Lake Olmstead rather than 15th Street. But for the first time the Parade did not, for spectator safety reasons, feature the traditional herd of longhorns. Instead, the cattle were penned in front of the Civic Center for spectators to see up close. The participants included more than 30 wagons and 300 riders.

A fickle Mother Nature greeted the next few Parades with just about everything she had in her weather arsenal. Balmy temperatures and blue skies one year; cold, dreary, steady rain the next. 2003 was cold and sunny, but 2004 saw the harshest weather in Parade history. An unrelenting ice storm forced the cancellation of the Parade.

Actually, cold and inclement weather has forced the cancellation of the Parade two of the past four years, bringing organizers to the realization that the time had come to change the Parade's scheduling. Consequently, the decision was made to move the Parade from January to May, starting in 2005.