Jasper County has changed its provider for its emergency alert program requiring all those interested in receiving the alerts to sign up again — particularly those with cell phones.
The Wireless Emergency Notification (WENS) Alert Iowa program is a statewide system designed to instantly reach cell phones, landline numbers, email addresses and pagers when an urgent county alert needs to be communicated.
The prior system — CodeRED — was used as recently as last month when authorities needed to alert downtown businesses and area residents of a bomb threat at the Jasper County Courthouse.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to sign up for WENS to be sure they receive timely emergency notifications, which will usually advise of weather alerts or law enforcement situations.
Jim Sparks, Jasper County Emergency Management Agency coordinator, said due to privacy restrictions, it was unable to transfer cell phone numbers from the CodeRED system to WENS. The new system’s database will include listings for previously registered landlines only.
“If you signed up your cell phone number with CodeRED and would like to continue receiving emergency notifications, you must register with WENS,” Sparks said.
The change comes as a cost-savings measure to the county. The previous system cost approximately $16,000 for a two-year contract, Sparks said.
About 18,000 users used the old system, and Sparks is hopeful that to regain those numbers.
Register at the Jasper County Emergency Management website at www.jasperema-hls.org. For assistance, call the office at 641-841-1181.
Contact Abigail Pelzer at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or apelzer@newtondailynews.com