CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Sept. 21 to Sept. 25 Emergency Management Appreciation Week. Marshall County Emergency Management Coordinator Kim Elder said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will not be a lot of events in celebration of the declaration.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared Emergency Management Appreciation Week would be held from Sept. 21-25 this year. The declaration comes during Preparedness Month.

This is not the first time there’s been an “EMA Week” during the month of September, Marshall County Emergency Management Coordinator Kim Elder said. It’s at least the fifth-straight year with a declaration, she said, and the purpose of it is to honor one of the more “under-the-radar” components of the emergency response system.

“We’re not the one that rushes to the scene first, we’re not there to run the emergency,” Elder said. “We’re there to support those who do run that disaster, or that emergency situation. So we’re there for logistics and a lot of mitigation and planning beforehand.”

Normally, this week would be comprised of a get-together at the State Capitol with members of the field and Reynolds as a token of the state’s appreciation. This usually coincides with a chance for EMAs to bring forward conversations about things going on in the field and changes they are in favor of. 

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that will not be the case in 2020. Elder said they have received a lot of thank-yous from the governor and many have had one-on-one interactions with Reynolds in lieu of the big meeting. 

Unable to do many preparedness events due to social distancing guidelines, Elder said she has been sending information and awareness information to the EMA Facebook page to spread the word about disaster preparedness in Marshall County. 

“A lot of times there are events that would be going on during this week,” Elder said. “We don’t want everybody to forget about preparedness definitely, so we just want to share that.”

One of the items discussed with Reynolds in one-on-one meetings has been a hope to remove taxing of preparedness supplies during No-Tax Weekend, Elder said.

The week is to shine a light on the first responders of Iowa. EMS Week is in May and Fire Prevention week is held in October.

“We’ve done different things and are trying to think outside of the box to help people get prepared,” Elder said. 

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at 641-753-6611 or nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com.