The framework of what will eventually be a massive $55.7 million campus that will train the city’s police and fire departments while headquartering the city’s 911 dispatch center is slowly coming together in northern Sioux Falls.
It used to be that people stranded in the desert of western Texas started fires to draw attention to their location. Since February, however, anyone lost in the vast jurisdiction of the Rio Grande Council of Governments (RIOCOG), which covers 25,516 square miles, can call 911 and show a picture of exactly where they are.
Officials from Montgomery, Carroll and Grenada counties were in Winona at MedStat’s ribbon cutting on Wednesday.
“We are extremely proud to announce the grand opening of our new building in Winona,” said Dave Eldridge, MedStat operations manager.
Lee County will spend just over $273,000 to purchase an emergency call system that could be quickly set up and operational if regular 911 call centers are taken out of commission by a natural or man-made disaster.
The City of Edmond’s Emergency Communications Center has taken additional steps to tackle missing children’s cases by completing a national missing kids readiness program.
While the sirens of police cruisers, fire trucks and ambulances are a easily heard reminder of the hard work done by the area’s public safety officials, there is plenty of quieter work going on behind the scenes as well.
