After almost 20 years, around 2,000 Nodaway County residents who received severe weather alerts on their cell phones through the emergency management office and Maryville public safety will have to find another provider.
Click the LISTEN button to hear Nodaway County emergency management director Christy Forney's visit with KXCV-KRNW news director Bill Oliver.
Emergency management director Christy Forney says outside funding for the Textcaster service is ending and the company providing the service has increased rates.
She also says there are many free weather apps that are available.
Forney recommends having a cell phone app along with a radio that receives watches and warnings from the National Weather Service.
She discourages people indoors relying on tornado warning sirens because the sirens are meant for those who are outdoors.
The last day of the Textcaster service is December 31st.
News release from the Maryville department of public safety and Nodaway County emergency management:
Maryville Department of Public Safety and Nodaway County Emergency Management will discontinue the use of Textcaster on December 31, 2026. We highly encourage you to use another method to receive severe weather alerts.
NOAA weather radios equipped with SAME technology are available for purchase at local stores and online. SAME technology allows users to program the radio to receive watches and warnings for the specific county or counties they select. Users may also choose which types of events they would like to receive alerts for.
There are also many cellphone apps available that provide timely weather information and alerts. There are several available, both free and paid. Some notable apps are The Weather Channel, AccuWeather, Weather Underground, Weawow, Yr, and Shadow Weather.
We would like to extend our gratitude to Northwest Cell, which provided this service to us free of charge for many years, and to Midwest Data Solutions, which continued the sponsorship after Northwest Cell closed its business.
