St Joseph County Central Dispatch

05/18/2026

Community Awareness Post:

This young man will be in the area going door-to-door selling books over the summer right here in St. Joseph County. He has made contact with local agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department and the Clerk’s Office, and us here at Dispatch to make us aware he will be in the community.

We simply wanted to pass the information along so residents are aware if he comes to your door. As always, please use your own discretion with any door-to-door sales.

05/10/2026

Behind many of the headsets at our center are moms balancing long shifts, missed holidays, school events, homework, sports schedules, and everything in between.

To the moms, moms-to-be, and bonus moms of St. Joseph County Central Dispatch - Thank You & Happy Mother's Day! We hope today reminds you just how appreciated you are. 💐

04/23/2026

Here are 6 ways you can receive weather warnings.

1. EAS alerts on your phone.
You will find this setting in the notification settings on your phone, usually under “government alerts” or “weather alerts”

2. Weather radio (Midland WR120 is a good model)
This is a great option for the home and office and be ran by battery or power cord, making it a seamless way to ensure you never miss a warning. It can also be programmed for your exact county and for exact alert you want to hear, and none that you don’t! That way, you don’t have to worry about receiving tons of alerts you don’t want.

3. MSC live feed or other local network live feed
Here at Michigan Storm Chasers, we are ALWAYS live streaming to YouTube, Facebook, X and Twitch TV whenever there is a severe or tornado warning active in the state of Michigan. The easiest platform is YouTube, and you can also click the notification bell on our channel after subscribing so you’ll get sent alerts whenever we go live! Subscribing is free to do, and you can do so by clicking this link and hitting the subscribe button on our channel! https://youtube.com/?si=am-ewQflkF68RMZi

4. A secondary weather app that has alert options
As much as we do not recommend using weather apps for severe weather, snow, or any advanced type of forecasts, they do serve a purpose if you use them for alerts. Many mainstream weather apps have an alert feature you can turn on for your location. The Red Cross Emergency app and the FEMA app are both solid options.

5. Friends and family
Relying on the “buddy system” can work. It starts with you! Whenever there is a threat for severe weather, let your loved ones know! You may just save a life someday by doing so.

6. Outdoor warning sirens
Outdoor warning sirens should be your LAST line of defense. Again we will repeat and capitalize this for emphasis. DO NOT RELY ON SIRENS. They are meant for outdoor use only, and are largely unreliable as a way to receive consistent warnings. Some counties sound their sirens for any and all warnings, others only sound them for certain criteria, and others rarely sound them at all. Due to the wide array of criteria, they are largely unreliable and you should not rely on them to give you warnings. They are NOT meant to be heard indoors or wake you up.

As we push further into severe weather season, these tips and explanations should be shared and referenced as needed. Feel free to screenshot, share, or whatever you need to do if this information is helpful for you.

Lastly, we would appreciate a like and/or share on this post as the more interaction a post gets, the more it gets pushed out into other people’s algorithms. This information is valuable, and the more people we reach with it, the better.

04/20/2026

Before we officially call it a wrap on National Telecommunicator Week, we're proud to introduce you to our fun, dedicated, and extremely talented team!

We also want to say thank you to those who reached out, dropped off treats, or took a moment to recognize our dispatchers. We appreciate it more than you know!

04/13/2026

It’s National 911 Telecommunicators Week… and I get the absolute privilege of bragging on one of the best teams out there 💛

These are the voices you hear on the other end of the line on what is quite possibly the worst day of your life. They are calm when things are chaotic, steady when everything feels out of control, and somehow manage to ask all the right questions while typing, dispatching, and thinking ten steps ahead (seriously… it’s like a superpower).

What most people don’t see is what happens behind the scenes: long shifts, back-to-back calls, weather events that don’t quit, and those moments when it feels like the entire county needs help all at once. And yet… this team shows up. Every. Single. Time.

They take care of the community, and just as importantly, they take care of each other. When things get tough (and they do), they pull together, dig in, and get it done. No complaints, no hesitation… just professionalism, heart, and a whole lot of grit.

I may be a little biased, but I truly believe St. Joseph County MI has the BEST telecommunicators around. And as their boss, I couldn’t be more proud (or more grateful… or more impressed on a daily basis).

Also, let’s be honest, they can go from helping deliver a baby, to giving CPR instructions, to dispatching a structure fire… all before finishing their coffee. And yes, that coffee is probably cold ☕️

To my team: you are appreciated more than you know. You are respected. You are needed. And you are making a difference every single day, even if you don’t always get to see the end of the story.

Thank you for being the calm in the chaos. I love this team.

To my 911 homies all over Michigan and beyond, know that you are something very special in the grand scheme of first responders!!

911 Telecommunicators all over the state of Michigan and the US are very special people that do a job that many can't. If you know any, make sure you take time out of your week to let them know how appreciated and needed they are.

04/04/2026

Due to current weather conditions, Central Dispatch will not be activating sirens for testing today.

04/02/2026

** OUTDATED ** Tornado Warning for Cass and St. Joseph County in MI until 7:15pm EDT.

04/02/2026

Tornado Watch for Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Calhoun, Cass, Eaton, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren County in MI until 11:00pm EDT.

03/18/2026

St. Joseph County will be participating in the Statewide Tornado Drill Wednesday March 18, 2026 at 1pm!

03/13/2026