Dustin Dienst, City of Faribault Emergency Management Director was joined by John Rowan, Deputy Rice County Emergency Management Director today on a special hour-long edition of the KDHL AM Minnesota program.

Each day of the week there is a topic the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety wants to educate people about.

Monday is Alerts and Warnings:  When I first started in radio in Desoto, Missouri at KHAD Radio I was on the air when skies blackened with some green tint indicating hail.

I told people what I was seeing and said I would go to a basement if I had one.  I think we had the United Press International wire service.  I checked the wire constantly but no word.

About 20 minutes after the storm blew through the area the wire issued a warning for the Desoto area.

That's how much our warning systems have improved.

The message we are supposed to deliver has changed also.  I remember back then we were supposed to tell people to go to the southeast corner of the lowest level of the home.  Open windows in the home, etc.

All that has changed over the years.  Not necessarily from way back.

Dienst and Rowan told us the 2018 tornadoes that went through the Faribault area brought a new lesson to the spotter world.

Rowan added weather experts continue to learn with each storm they analyze.

Dienst gave information about the outdoor warning sirens.

The difference between a Severe Weather Watch and a warning is.

Both Rice and Steele Counties and the cities of Faribault and Owatonna are on the Everbridge Emergency Notification System.

Everbridge has been recognized by the industry.  This information comes from their website dated April 13, 2023.

Everbridge, Inc. (Nasdaq: EVBG), the global leader in critical event management (CEM) and national public warning software solutions, today announced that the company won a 2023 Platinum Govies Government Security Award for its Control Center product. Security Today magazine, the preeminent editorial website for the security industry, presented the award to Everbridge in the Security Integration Software category.

“In an increasingly unpredictable world, resilient organizations minimize the impact events have on their people and operations,” said David Wagner, CEO of Everbridge. “The 2023 Platinum Govies Award is great recognition of our mission to keep people safe and organizations running, and our ongoing commitment to empower our customers to absorb stress, return to productivity faster, and be more resilient.”

Everbridge Control Center correlates events from disparate safety and security systems into a common operating picture to focus security operators’ attention on what matters most.

You can listen to the special program below.

KEEP READING: Get answers to 51 of the most frequently asked weather questions...

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