Jasper County EMA

09/03/2026

Gov. Reynolds announced that President Trump has approved Iowa’s request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration for Iowa counties that sustained significant damage from severe weather, heavy rainfall, & flash flooding July 1-4, 2026. The declaration activates the FEMA Public Assistance Program for Jasper, Polk, Story, & Warren counties.

More info: https://go.iowa.gov/hq3A

09/02/2026

A big thank you to the Open Arms Foundation of Jasper County for purchasing books to help better prepare our youngest students.

Learn From the Helpers: 5 Actions That Keep Us Safe was created by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation for children in preschool through second grade. Through an age-appropriate story, the book introduces the five actions of the Standard Response Protocol: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate, and Shelter.

The goal is not to frighten children. It is to help them understand, in simple and reassuring language, what their teachers and trusted helpers may ask them to do during an emergency. Introducing these concepts early helps make school safety procedures more familiar and less intimidating.

Open Arms is committed to providing immediate and meaningful support to vulnerable children and families throughout Jasper County. This purchase is another great example of that mission in action.

Thank you to Open Arms and Jasper DEC for investing in our children and helping us build a safer, better-prepared Jasper County.

09/02/2026

Outdoor Sirens are meant to be heard outdoors not inside your homes.

📢 Let's talk about Outdoor Warning Sirens! 📢
Did you know that outdoor warning sirens are exactly that—for the OUTDOORS? 🌳 They are designed to warn people who are outside to seek immediate shelter. You are not guaranteed to hear them inside your house!
Also, sirens aren't just for tornadoes 🌪️; local agencies can also sound them for other severe weather threats like destructive winds (70+ mph) or golf-ball-sized hail.
Remember: When you hear the siren, go inside, take shelter, and tune into local media or a weather radio for details. Find out more about how sirens work in Iowa at www.ready.iowa.gov!

09/01/2026

Week #1 of Preparedness Month is focused on ... Be Aware.

09/01/2026

Do you need a place to cool off, maybe get a free lunch or take a shower? Follow the link below for more information.

See available resources at: https://www.jasperia.org/resources/cooling_and_warming_centers/

08/31/2026

September is Preparedness Month starts tomorrow. You can begin planning anytime-How about today?

08/29/2026

It was an honor to have these often unseen heroes training at our facility!

911 Telecommunicators are the calm voice in the dark, the reassurance during uncertainty, and often the very first person there to help on someone’s worst day. The work they do behind the scenes is critical to every response, and they deserve every bit of recognition we can give them.

We were proud to have NENA hold this training right here at our facility, and a huge hats off to the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, Iowa for securing the grant funding that made this training opportunity possible.

We are blessed to work alongside some of the best responders and public safety professionals in the state, and the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is right at the top of that list.

We also need to give a REALLY BIG shout-out to Prairie Meadows. Thanks to their generous donation, we were able to upgrade some of our IT equipment, and the timing could not have been better. That equipment was in place just in time to help support training like this and is already making a difference in what we are able to host and provide at our facility.

Great training, great partners, and another example of what can happen when public safety agencies and community partners work together to invest in the people who serve our communities every day.

08/27/2026

The Jasper County EMS Essential Services webpage is now live.

While we still have a great deal to evaluate and many questions to answer in the coming weeks, even months, this page will provide one location for information, historical documents, meeting materials, and updates throughout the process.

We have included the independent Jasper County EMS Assessment completed in 2014. Although the service-specific numbers are now outdated, the study provides an important historical baseline and shows that the challenges facing EMS today did not develop overnight.

Jasper County has made significant improvements since that study, including countywide medical direction and protocols, stronger coordination between services, expanded local training opportunities, and improved access to advanced life support.

However, financing was identified as a serious concern more than a decade ago, and it continues to be the major unresolved issue. The costs of staffing, training, vehicles, equipment, medical supplies, and regulatory compliance have continued to increase, while reimbursement and volunteer availability have not kept pace.

No final service model, funding amount, or distribution formula has been determined. This process is about gathering current information, identifying what level of EMS service residents should reasonably expect, and developing a responsible and sustainable plan for the future.

As the process moves forward, the webpage will be updated with next steps, committee members once approved, meeting information, current data, supporting documents, and other important updates.

We encourage residents to visit the webpage, review the information, and follow the process as it moves forward.

https://jasperema-hls.org/page/ems/

08/27/2026

Help keep all our children safe and download the SafeplusSound app today to report anything suspicious.