Ideas. Stories. Community.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How to Get Instant Information About Local Emergencies

Austin Cope
People can subscribe to Nixle alerts by texting their zip code to 888-777.

On Sunday, a domestic incident in a neighborhood in Cortez made authorities urge people in the area to shelter in their homes due to the potential threat of an armed individual. In order to do that, those authorities used a system called Nixle. It sends text messages or emails regarding emergency information to people who have subscribed. To learn more about how local governments share information with the public in times of emergency, KSJD's Austin Cope spoke with Lori Johnson. She oversees the emergency dispatch center for the City of Cortez and for Montezuma County, and also serves as emergency manager during large incidents in town. Click below to listen.

Austin Cope is a former Morning Edition host for KSJD and now produces work on a freelance basis for the station. He grew up in Cortez and hosted a show on KSJD when he was 10 years old. After graduating from Montezuma-Cortez High School in 2010, he lived in Belgium, Ohio, Spain, northern Wyoming, and Himachal Pradesh, India before returning to the Cortez area. He has a degree in Politics from Oberlin College in Ohio.
Related Content