(DES MOINES, Iowa) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says a false emergency alert, sent to Hawaiins over the weekend, prompted her to ask about Iowa's emergency alert systems.
Reynolds says after hearing from Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Mark Schouton, she's confident Iowa's system is secure, and there are multiple validation steps so messages are accurate and appropriate.
She says only those trained on the system have access to it, and there are multiple training sessions throughout the year. She says Iowa emergency officials assure her that in the unlikely event there's a false alarm sent out, a second one will be sent out immediately to make the correction.
Hawaiians received a text message Saturday morning, warning them to take shelter because of an incoming ballistic missile. A correction message, stating the first message was a mistake, was sent out about a half hour later.
John Benson of Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management tells WHO Radio News he had two reactions to the incident in Hawaii, he was 100-percent sure Hawaii emergency officials did not intend to send out that message, Benson says he was also pleased that those who got the message appeared to take it seriously, so the system worked as it's intended to.
Benson says in Iowa, to be approved to use the system, one must go through extensive training. He says there are multiple steps to take, to send out an emergency message. He says in Iowa, they try not to over use the system, so Iowans who get an alert will take it seriously.