Nixle offers text, e-mail alerts

Dickinson County Emergency Management services are preparing for the onslaught of winter weather with a new delivery system unveiled late this summer.

On Aug. 28, Mike Ehret, Dickinson County emergency management coordinator/911 administrator, introduced Nixle for use in Dickinson County. Nixle is an emergency alert system that sends messages to community members via texting and e-mail.

"Essentially we were looking for another means to get information out to the public; not only for emergencies, but also for general community and that sort of information," he said. "It's totally free for the public to sign up and get hooked up. That was a real nice benefit."

While Ehret has been using the service for weather related announcements, he notes that it can also be utilized for general community related issues.

"We're using it in a lot of different areas," Ehret said. "There's different levels of messages that can be sent out from alerts to advisories to just general community information to traffic."

Ehret collects messages from various outlets, including the town police departments, county engineer, public health, and weather services. Since its unveiling, Nixle messages in Dickinson County asked subscribers for tips related to the recent robbery of the Milford Dynos, and alerted drivers to the lane closures resulting from a tipped semi on Highway 86. Recently, Nixle messages provided a reminder of Halloween safety tips before the approaching holiday.

Users who register to receive Nixle messages at www.nixle.com may pick and choose which alerts they receive. Ehret points out other communities across the state have enacted Nixle services, with their own positive results.

"I know Sioux County did have a success story with it a few weeks ago where they had a child that was missing - didn't turn up at home after school,"Ehret said. "They put out an alert through Nixle, an 18-year-old got that message on his cell phone and actually ended up finding the child."

As of now, Ehret has about 80 residents in Dickinson County signed up to receive alerts, but hopes to spread the word on the service and increase participation. Ehret also points out that Nixle is a supplement to rather than a replacement for other forms of alert systems.

"It's simply one more avenue we have to get (messages) out," Ehret said. "Because it is limited to e-mail and text message (and we know) not everyone has a computer, not everyone has a cell phone."

With severe winter weather looming, Ehret places emphasis on the importance of continuing to use tools such as weather radios, and also points to a newly updated web site for Dickinson County Emergency alerts, dcoem.org, launched Oct. 30. The newly updated site offers information on preparedness for weather and general emergencies as well as more information on the Nixle service.