Saving time and saving lives in northern Minnesota

New emergency alert system helps keep residents safe in the small community of Cromwell

Sharon Zelazny has only lived in Cromwell for about eight years, but she says the small northern Minnesota community feels like home.

“Our community is more like a family. Everybody knows everybody,” says Zelazny, a second-term mayor of Cromwell.

The town looks after its own, and that capability recently strengthened when Cromwell replaced an outdated emergency alert system to provide more notice to residents in case of an emergency.

“I’ve always felt that although we’re a small town, we still deserve to be able to take care of our citizens and provide high-quality services,” says Zelazny.

The city’s old alert system had to be manually activated at the fire department where it was located. Like many smaller communities, Cromwell relies on a volunteer fire department that’s not staffed 24 hours a day—and that meant sending a volunteer to the fire station to activate the siren.

The new alert system will connect to the National Weather Service and automatically alert the community, through Carlton County Dispatch, when an emergency occurs.

“This doesn’t just impact our city—our school district encompasses children from neighboring communities, and many people from out of town come to our community center to attend the many events that take place. The alarm doesn’t just serve this small town,” says Zelazny.