Three Ways Minnesota Counties Used Life-Saving Alerts

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What do Freeborn, Scott, Steele and Stevens counties have in common?

They’ve all had disasters this spring that required Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) – and in each case, they worked exactly as intended. Residents got the safety information they needed, exactly when they needed it, whether it was staying off the roads in a winter storm, evacuating residents during flooding, or finding shelter from the cold during a power outage.

Find out just how effective WEAs can be in our latest DPS blog.

Help in Any Language

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When you’re in an emergency and you need help, sometimes it’s hard to even dial the phone, let alone find the right words to say to a 911 dispatcher. So imagine if English wasn’t your first language. In an emergency, you’d still need to make yourself understood so that you could get the right help in the right place.

Fortunately, the Minnesota Statewide 911 Program provides language interpretation service, and in 2018 alone, they received calls in 53 different languages.

Learn more about the 911 language interpretation program and how it works in our latest blog.

Text-to-911 Recognized for Communication Outreach

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At a mere 15 months old, Text-to-911 has already been used copiously by deaf and hearing people alike.

And in early March, at the Minnesota state capitol rotunda, it was recognized by the deaf, deafblind and hard-of hearing community as helping to contribute to communication equity – that is, the concept that everyone, regardless of ability, should be able to gain access to the information and services they need.

It’s called the Access Award, and you can learn more about it – and how Text-to-911 earned it – in our latest DPS blog.