New Emergency Alert System Coming to Hopkins

It’s soon going to be much easier for residents to find out about emergencies where they live.

Starting Monday, residents should be able to sign up for a new emergency notification system called Global Connect that will allow the city to deliver text messages, phone calls and voicemails to thousands of residents within minutes.

Fire Chief Dale Specken expects the city to use the system primarily to spread the word about snow emergencies, hopefully reducing the number of vehicles the city must tow. But Global Connect would also be useful with more-rare emergencies—if the city had to get out information about evacuation routes, for example.

“It’s a very up-to-date, robust system,” Specken said.

Hopkins began searching for an alert system last year when former City Manager Rick Getschow asked staff to find the best way to send out emergency notifications. The city chose Global Connect—a system that will cost $4,800 per year, split between the public works, police and fire budgets.

The Hopkins snow emergency line will not go away.

Global Connect will initially use a database of 8,500 landline numbers that the city purchased. Dispatchers will send out alerts when an emergency happens. The system is precise enough that the city can send alerts to just a single block if, for example, a water main breaks.

That database does not contain any cell phone numbers, but residents will be able to register their cell phones so they can receive notifications wherever they are. Families can register multiple phones per address.

Residents will also be able to opt out of the system.

A link to the sign-up site will be available on the city’s website Monday. The system could be up early next week. The goal is to get it operating as soon as possible before the snow hits, Specken said.

Hopkins will notify local media outlets of the specifics later in the week. Patch will have the details as they become available.