woodbury County snares six million for Homeland Security upgrade

Woodbury County is geting nearly six million dollars from the feds for a homeland security project. Woodbury County is to use the money for a new system that will let police, the fire department and emergency medical services communicate more easily at the scene of accidents — or acts of terrorism. Ellen Gordon, Iowa’s Homeland Security Advisor, says improving the communication flow is vital to the success of so-called “first responders” who are on the “frontline of emergency situations.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security handed out nearly 80-million dollars worth of grants yesterday to help communities get the latest communications technology. Governors from each state were allowed to nominate just one project. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack says Woodbury County submitted a “unique proposal” because it calls for coordination across state boundaries, as Sioux City sits along the Nebraska and South Dakota borders.