Muscatine, Iowa (File photo / Midwest Energy News)

Residents of an Iowa county that has made national headlines for its struggles with air pollution will now receive electronic warnings when air quality poses a health hazard.

The warnings in Muscatine County will be issued to county residents who sign up for a free text or email service. The messaging system was approved unanimously on Monday by Muscatine County’s board of supervisors and will also include warnings for flash floods, measles outbreaks and other health hazards, plus information on school and road closures.

Kas Kelly led the county’s ad hoc committee that researched the early alert system. She’s the chair of the county board of supervisors and said the issue was brought up after an April 2 alert issued by the state air quality bureau.

“We quickly realized that we already had everything at our fingertips in order to notify the entire county,” she said. “We could accomplish this without spending one dollar of tax money.”
→