St. Louis County Emergency Management Coordinator Duane "Dewey" Johnson recently received an honor from his peers, as the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers singled Johnson out for outstanding performance in the field.
Johnson has worked for the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office since 1995 and has served in his current capacity since 2015. He also has served 22 years as a volunteer firefighter in Grand Lake Township and is an adjunct professor at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.
As the county's emergency management coordinator, Johnson updated its Emergency Operations Center, equipping it to function as a regional dispatch training center and enabling it to serve as a back-up dispatch location should there ever be an issue at the main 911 center. He coordinated the response by multiple agencies following the July 2016 windstorm, and Johnson also organized efforts by the county and several cities to begin using the Everbridge emergency alert system. He recently worked with the Duluth Kennel Club to obtain a Pet Disaster Relief Trailer - one of two in the state - to provide assistance to pet owners who need to evacuate an area but don't want to abandon their pets.
In nominating Johnson for the award, his supervisor called him "the perfect example of a public servant." Lt. Neil Porter of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office said: "Day and night, Dewey's vast emergency management and public safety experience, his knowledge and his personal commitment to the citizens of St. Louis County, the northeast region and Minnesota, are on display, all in order to make his home state a better-prepared and safer place to live."
