Emergency Management in Minnesota

Emergency Management encompasses five mission areas: prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. Local emergency managers coordinate all of these functions to build and maintain effective community preparedness programs. While many emergency management tasks happen behind the scenes, they are essential to ensuring strong response and recovery capabilities.

State Requirements

Minnesota law requires every county and city to maintain an emergency management organization aligned with the state’s emergency management plan (Minnesota Statutes, section 12.25). Each jurisdiction must appoint an Emergency Management Director. If no appointment is made, the mayor or county board chair serves in that role.

All 87 Minnesota counties have appointed directors, and most larger cities do the same. In smaller communities, the mayor often fulfills these duties.

Pennington County Everbridge Notification System

Pennington County uses Everbridge, a rapid emergency notification service designed to alert residents quickly and accurately. The system can deliver up to 1,000 phone calls per minute and uses advanced geographic mapping to target messages to specific areas or send alerts countywide.

By registering, residents ensure they receive critical notifications during emergencies.

Emergency Notifications May Include:

• Fires
• Chemical spills
• Evacuations
• Lockdowns
• Downed power lines
• Missing persons
• Natural disasters
• Abductions
• Water system issues
• Bomb threats
• Other urgent situations

Everbridge can contact the entire community in 20–30 minutes during widespread events. The system also tracks numbers that did not receive the message so follow‑up contact can be made through other methods.

Register for Alerts

Pennington County encourages all residents to register their contact information—including home, business, mobile, and VOIP numbers—to ensure they receive emergency notifications. Registration is especially important for individuals with unlisted numbers or cell phones.

Those who do not register may not receive alerts during an emergency.

Registration is confidential, free, and easy.

http://emergencyalert.penningtonsheriff.org/