FAIRMONT – For alerts from blizzards to train derailments, Martin County is changing its provider from Code Red to Regroup.

Martin County Emergency Management Director Ben Johnson said Regroup is pretty similar to Code Red, but they had to switch to it due to Code Red not being able to send out an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) alert.

“Whenever you have a tornado or a big event, the messages go over your TV screens or over the radio; those are IPAWS alerts,” Johnson said. “With Regroup, that gives us the ability, in the case of an emergency, to go ahead and break into the radio or TV broadcast to alert everybody of whatever the emergency situation is.”

This problem occurred in December 2025, and after a search, Johnson said they had a pretty clear winner.

“I reached out to a few different vendors. Regroup was one of them that I was hearing quite a bit about through other counties. I spoke with Chief Deputy Corey Klanderud about what Regroup was, and what I was hearing from other counties, as well as some of the other vendors. We didn’t want to be without the ability to put IPAWS out there, so we moved rather quickly that way, and ended up just choosing Regroup for a variety of reasons.”

In this process, Johnson said usability and quickness of relaying alerts were crucial factors in why they chose Regroup. In addition to these, Johnson said Regroup also has a neat new feature.

“If there’s a hazardous material spill or something like that, we can create cordons,” he said. “If somebody even enters the area, it notifies them that they need to turn around and leave.”

While this new system has some bells and whistles, Johnson said it still does the same thing everyone expects it to.

“It sends out all the alerts that Code Red did,” he said. “Anything from tornadoes, floods, active threats. Even something as simple as boil water notices. If there’s a water main break or something like that, and they feel that a boil water notice needs to be put out there. It can do those as well.”

In the two days since it was launched, there have already been 70 new sign-ups. The information from those who were signed up to Code Red has also been securely transferred to Regroup, so those who were already subscribed to alerts should, in theory, receive Regroup alerts as well. Johnson said there is an easy, quick way to check for sure.

“If they go to sign up, if they’re already signed up, it’ll give them a warning box like ‘You’re already in the system,'” Johnson said.

Looking forward, Johnson said they will continue to evaluate and re-evaluate their system’s effectiveness and seek to provide the best for Martin County.

“Price-wise, usability-wise, what’s best for the public as far as emergency notifications go,” he said. “We were with Code Red for well over 10 years or so. One of the main reasons we switched was because we couldn’t use that IPAWS anymore. I foresee us staying with Regroup for a while, short of something like that happening, of course.”

To sign up for Regroup, or check to see if your registration from Code Red has carried

over, text MartinCounty to 58339. For questions, call the Sheriff’s Office at (507) 238-4481.