Janet Wilwerding, Communication Manager, shared these options for getting information from the City of Johnston (and Polk Co.) regarding general information and emergency alerts. These are optional, but we wanted to make sure you were aware that they are available for staff and community members:
Johnston Alerts (Civic Ready) – www.cityofjohnston.com/JohnstonAlerts
The City of Johnston uses CivicReady to send emergency alerts and other notifications. Subscribers can register to receive emergency alerts via phone call, text message, and/or email. Non-emergency messages will be sent by text and/or email. If you wish to subscribe to emergency alerts by SMS text message only, text your zip code to 38276. You can sign up now to receive weather-related alerts – that part is quite nice.
Examples of messages sent through CivicReady:
- A snow parking ban is in effect
- Missing persons
- Local threats
- Road closures and traffic alerts
- Utility service disruptions
- Other incidents that require rapid communication
Johnston Press Releases – http://www.cityofjohnston.com/list.aspx
The City of Johnston sends out press releases to local media. Once complete, they are also posted on the City of Johnston’s website. You can sign up to receive an email and/or text alert on the press releases. Visit http://www.cityofjohnston.com/list.aspx and look for the “Johnston Press Releases” under “Notify me.”
Johnston Notifications (Civic Engage) – www.cityofjohnston.com/notifications
Stay up-to-date with general news and information from the City of Johnston by subscribing to Notify Me email and text notifications.
By signing up, you can receive automatic notifications for:
- Calendar Events
- News Flash updates
- City of Johnston Job Postings
- Board, Council, and Commission Agendas
City Newsletter – www.cityofjohnston.com/Enewsletter
This newsletter provides information on upcoming events, activities, or project updates. The newsletter is sent out every Thursday and the first of each month. However, only the monthly newsletter is sent if the first of the month falls within the same week. We also have an employee newsletter that is sent out each quarter. The next newsletter will be on December 1. Maddy also prints a copy and provides it to the department directors to hang in their designated areas. It provides information on new employees, birthdays, anniversaries and projects happening in the city.
Polk County/Alert Iowa – www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=polkcountyia
These notifications are sent through Polk County. If you were previously signed up for the Polk County alerts through SMART 911, the system did not transfer over the contacts. You will need to sign up to receive the alerts again.
In the event of an emergency or severe weather, an alert will be sent to the phone number and/or email address provided by voice, text and/or email. This is a free service provided by Polk County and the State of Iowa; however, normal message fees may apply. To receive text messages to your cell phone, your cell phone must have text messaging capabilities.
Some examples of the types of incidents or events where the Polk County/Alert Iowa system may be effective in notifying our citizens to include the following:
- Environmental and Natural Disasters: Floods, Dangerous Water Conditions, Water Safety Alerts, Dam/Levee Breaks
- Search and Rescue: Missing Children, Missing Elderly, Missing Disabled, Evacuation Notices, Evacuation Routes
- Crime: Law Enforcement Activities, Prisoner Escape Warning, Neighborhood Crime Watches
- Man-Made Disasters: Terrorism Threats, Bomb Threats, Nuclear Hazards, Bio Terrorism Threats, Chemical Spills, Hazardous Material Emergencies, Gas Leaks, Hostage Situations
- Public Works: Drinking Water Contamination, Utility Outages, Street Closings, Public Notifications