Area alerts will ding phones

Minnesotans will soon be getting emergency alerts through their cell phones and other mobile devices.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation entered into an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin using wireless emergency alerts through FEMA’s national system for local alerting that shares emergency information with the public.

The alerts use the same system that shares critical notifications like AMBER alerts with the public, as well as other time-sensitive information during natural disasters or threats to public safety. Alerts can be sent directly to mobile devic...