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Residents press Highwood for faster, clearer emergency notifications after recent shootings
Summary
Residents urged the council to improve public alerts and use social platforms after several incidents; staff recommended signing up for official news alerts and described a verification step that can delay distribution by up to about 30 minutes.
Several residents told the council they learned about recent, nearby incidents through social media rather than official city messages and urged faster, clearer notifications. Jenny Munkle said she learned of last night’s incident because relatives called and because information was circulating on Facebook: “I had a frantic mother-in-law call me to say that there was an active shooter,” she said (Jenny Munkle, SEG 836–838).
City staff said Highwood maintains news alerts on its website and will share verified information from Highland Park when appropriate, but cautioned that the city must confirm details with the investigating agency before publishing: city staff estimated distribution typically within about 30 minutes depending on the time and verification needs (City Manager, SEG 965–989). Staff encouraged residents to sign up for official alerts and offered a volunteer to help draft notification wording for social channels (Resident volunteer, SEG 928–932).
