In Becker Township the local sirens are owned by Xcel, but they no longer are required to keep them. We can choose to:
- take ownership of 14 sirens, at a cost of approximately $10,000 per year
- Discontinue the sirens all together, and individuals can rely on weather apps or regular news.
More information follows.
The Becker Town Board would like your opinion on retention of these sirens.
You can call the office at 763-261-5301 and leave a message, email clerk [at] beckertownship.org (clerk[at]beckertownship[dot]org), or send an email to individual Supervisors by going to this page and sending individual emails. You can also mail a letter if you prefer, to Becker Township, PO Box 248, Becker, MN 55308.
Xcel Energy is retiring its compliment of outdoor Early Warning Sirens, which have been in place as part of its safety plan related to the Monticello nuclear power plant. Xcel plans on using the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) in the future.
Outdoor warning sirens are one element in an integrated public warning system that has several methods to provide immediate, life-saving warning notifications to many people as quickly as possible. These outdoor warning sirens are simply one tool to warn people who are outdoors to take immediate, potentially life-saving action by finding shelter from an imminent deadly threat and get information on the threat. Remember that outdoor warning sirens are not just tornado sirens, they are used for all-hazard warnings. Sirens may be used for all types of hazards where emergency officials want people in a defined area to ‘get inside then get information.’
Other methods can include
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NOAA Weather Radios
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Broadcast radio, television, and cable providers that use the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
IPAWS is FEMA's national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public through mobile phones using Wireless Emergency Alerts, to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System, and on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Weather Radio.
Sherburne County and some cities in Sherburne County have operated additional outdoor early warning sirens, primarily for use during weather-related events, where Xcel’s sirens have not traditionally reached. This is not the case in Becker Township. The attached maps display Sherburne County sirens and the Xcel sirens. The county will maintain these sirens through 2026. By July 1, 2026, the Townships are asked to notify Sherburne County what sirens we intend to keep and then need to determine maintenance of the sirens. The Township is to determine placement and number of sirens, and will continue to operate the use of these warning sirens through the 911 Emergency Dispatch Center. Any sirens not maintained by the Township will be decommissioned by Sherburne County.