Sheriff Mark Falk
Cook County will be testing the CodeRed community emergency notification system on Wednesday, June 4 at approximately 1 p.m. During the test those who have signed up for the CodeRed program will get a brief message stating that this is a test and number 866- 419-5000 will appear on caller ID.
Cook County has partnered with CodeRED to provide the county’s emergency communications outreach to both citizens and visitors by sending telephone calls, text messages, emails and social media during emergencies.
CodeRED, is Internet-based and provides a range of services, and is used by over half the counties in Minnesota, as well as Lake County and the city of Duluth. It is easy and intuitive for dispatchers to use and is an efficient and effective way to protect life and property by reaching the most people, with good information, in the least amount of time.
“CodeRED will provide us with a quick way in getting critical information to citizens during emergencies,” said Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk. “We can use CodeRED to notify residents of emergencies like wildfires, floods, severe weather, emergency road closures, power outages, etc. We can also notify residents in specific geographic locations, such as within one mile of a hazardous material spill, and use it for back-up paging of our emergency responders. Currently we do not plan to use it for non-emergency information.”
The county has an initial database of residential and business telephone numbers from public sources, however all Cook County residents are encouraged to visit the County website at www.co.cook.mn.us and click on the CodeRED logo to enroll any additional contact information you want listed, including cell phone numbers, text and email addresses. Your information is stored only on the CodeRED secure database, and is not available for anyone else to see or use.
At the same website, you can also sign up to get the CodeRED mobile app, which will allow you to receive notifications in any area you visit that uses the CodeRED system. Sheriff Falk encourages people to send it to family and friends who might travel through Lake or Cook counties.
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