Johnson County installs newest rural weather siren

The latest rural weather siren was put into service Tuesday, one of the 10 total new warning alarms Johnson County Emergency Management plans to use to protect residents and visitors.

According to a news release, the siren, installed in the Cottage Reserve Subdivision at 3810 Cottage Reserve Rd. NE, is the latest of four that have been planted so far, and will be followed by another six by January 2013, in order to protect those in nearly all "higher density" rural parts of the county.

Locations of other sirens include, most recently, at the Western Hills mobile home park in Coralville, and also in Hills, Oxford, and near Joe Town at the Iowa Mennonite School, 540th Street SW.

The sirens at Kent Park and at the edge of Fry Town, in the southwest portion of the county, were both purchased in 2008.

Dave Wilson, county emergency management coordinator, said the sirens were funded by mitigation and community development block grants, local option sales tax money and private funds.