By: Mike Keyport, Emergency Management Director

For three decades Cook County Emergency Management has brought forth an Emergency Services Conference and this year is no different. The 31st offering of the Emergency Services Conference will be held in Grand Marais on April 28 and 29, 2023. This great Cook County get-together attracts local Firefighters, Emergency Medical Service personnel, US Customs and Border Protection, US Border Patrol, local law Enforcement, Dispatch, Search and Rescue, and Emergency Management. The conference over the years has also welcomed participants from all over the Northeast Region and from Minnesota State Homeland Security, Emergency Management and other State agencies.

This year’s conference theme is “Leading us into the Future… Guided by Our Past”. Cook County First Responders in the past have responded to many traffic accidents, wildland and structure fires, countless search and rescue efforts, suicides, and too many more trying incidents to name. As our First Responders move to the future not only is there new technology and more modern equipment but in Cook County there is the changing weather patterns and a growing number of large events.  These large events tax our so very dedicated First Responders. This annual conference is an opportunity to offer training and information for these ladies and gentlemen who run towards the danger of any given emergency when the rest of us are running away.

Exercising is a way Emergency Management working with responding agencies learns what works or needs improvement and communication is a major factor in any given emergency response. This year’s conference will offer a communication exercise to test interoperability among our local, regional, and state resources. To do this the National Guard 148th Fighter Wing will be on site with their portable communications tower and First Net will also be here with a cellular portable communications tower. 

A two-hour SKYWARN training session conducted by members of the National Weather Service will begin on Friday at the Cook County Community Center. The NWS SKYWARN program provides training to volunteers in the community who help identify and report severe weather. SKYWARN spotters have helped the NWS issue timely and accurate warnings to protect lives and property.

Keynote speaker Robert Reif, Deputy Minnesota State Fire Marshal will be on hand to fill us in on what is new and exciting from the State Fire Marshal Office. In this session we will learn what the State Fire Marshal’s Office can do for Cook County and of the many resources they have to offer.

This year’s conference will also offer annual ARMER radio refresher training.  The State of Minnesota requires all ARMER radio users to attend annual refresher training.

The Minnesota Department of Health will be here to train on Psychological First Aid and a keynote speaker will educate on the effects on mental health during and following a prolonged pandemic.

Ambulance staff from North Shore Health will be offering an open house at the ambulance garage to include Life Link III helicopter service and Safe Landing training.

Unfortunately, drug abuse and drug overdoses continue to take place in our county. This year’s conference will offer naloxone (Narcan) training to educate on how and when to properly use these products.

Keynote speaker, Chris Heeter from The Wild Institute is a lively motivational speaker who uses sled dogs and whitewater analogies and breathes life and fresh air into topics that could use it, such as our dedicated emergency personnel and first responders.

The 31st offering of the Cook County Emergency Services Conference will bring the above highlights and much, much more. The conference gives local responders a chance to train, exercise, and learn something new right here in our backyards instead of having to travel outside of Minnesota.

The online registration and full agenda will be available beginning March 23, 2023, on the Cook County website. This year’s conference is fast approaching, and everyone is welcome.

County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.