Feds’ communication mandate could prove costly to county

Owing to unintended consequences of a federal mandate eight years ago, Chickasaw County needs to upgrade its radio system to improve emergency communication between public safety workers in the field and dispatch — between the nerves and the nerve center.“We lost a ton of reception,” County Emergency Management director Austen Seely said, referring to the narrow band radio mandate that the Federal Communications Commission handed down in 2012.The communications tower built south of town over the past year and a half was a significant upgrade to that, but it was only part of a long-term solution.— For more on this story, see the May 11 New Hampton Tribune.