News
BISMARCK - The State Emergency Communications Center is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Established in 1951 as the State Radio Broadcasting System, SECC coordinates 9-1-1 services and emergency medical, fire and law enforcement response for 26 counties and 287 federal, state, local and tribal agencies. Three additional counties are joining the system in 2026 and 2027.
SECC’s Public Safety Telecommunicators do far more than answer phones and dispatch responders. They provide lifesaving instructions, guiding callers through CPR until help arrives, and sometimes have the privilege of helping welcome a new life into the world when a baby arrives before reaching the hospital. They remain calm in the most difficult moments, offering reassurance, direction, and hope when people need it most.
"For 75 years, State Radio and now the State ECC have been there for North Dakota. While technology has changed and our responsibilities have grown, one thing has remained constant: the dedication of the people behind the consoles. Their work often happens behind the scenes, out of public view, but its impact is felt in communities across our state every single day," said SECC director Darin Anderson.
In 2025, bills passed by the 69th Legislative Assembly classified public safety telecommunicators as first responders, allowing them access to vital mental health and disability benefits, and granted them eligibility to join the state public safety retirement plan. Meanwhile, "State Radio" was renamed the State Emergency Communications Center, its new name more accurately reflecting its modern mission and use of myriad tools and technologies, beyond just radio, to provide effective public safety communications.
SECC’s services include statewide 9-1-1 and emergency telephone systems; access to the National Crime Information Center and National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System; the National Warning System; statewide paging; mobile data terminal systems; and frequency coordination.
For more on the history of State Radio and the SECC, visit the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services website at https://des.nd.gov/secc-history.
Notification is hereby given to the public that the City of Lisbon has requested funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to purchase and install a residential safe room for times of emergency.
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposes to provide federal financial assistance under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program to the City of Lincoln (sub-applicant) in Burleigh County, North Dakota, for a flood mitigation project.
Governor Kelly Armstrong has proclaimed August as Emergency Management Awareness Month in recognition of the often-unnoticed work emergency managers do every day to keep North Dakotans safe.
Civil Air Patrol North Dakota Wing and North Dakota National Guard are supporting the mission to find Artoun Gostantian in the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The ND Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) has been notified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is announcing $1 billion in funding available through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC).
North Dakota is supporting the Nebraska wildfire fight by sending two North Dakota National Guard 600-gallon “Bambi Buckets” for aerial firefighting via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
A public event was held in Watford City, Community Strong: Remembering the 2024 October Wildfires and Those Who Stood Together. Among the impacted landowners, community leaders, and first responders gathered for the event was the widow of Johannes Nicolaas van Eeden, traveling from South Africa to visit the place of her late husband’s last days. Edgar Coppersmith and van Eeden both tragically lost their lives due to impacts from the wildfires.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in cooperation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a flood protection improvement (Project) sponsored by the Lower Heart River Water Resource District (LHRWRD) in Mandan, North Dakota.
Notification is hereby given to the public that the Barnes County, North Dakota has requested funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a proposed road inslope stabilization mitigation project along County Road 21.