Twin Cities 911 centers developing backup plans as Derek Chauvin trial looms jamestownsun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamestownsun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Landline users in northern Minnesota and Michigan's Upper Peninsula will be required to dial ten digits when making local calls later this year due to the launch of a new national hotline using the 988 prefix. Ten-digit dialing is already required in northern Wisconsin.
Chauvin trial puts focus on gaps in 911 system revealed during George Floyd riots Liz Navratil, Star Tribune
Metro-area 911 centers lacked the technology to communicate amid jammed phone lines and crowded radio channels during rioting last year and that has not changed as officials brace for the first trial in George Floyd s death.
With a larger solution still far off, state and local leaders are pinning their hopes on a patchwork of smaller fixes they hope will lead to a smoother response if violence erupts this time. Clearly, I think it was a missed opportunity, said Jill Rohret, executive director of the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, adding that leaders feel new urgency to address the technological gap.