APD says changes are coming to community notification system

The Anchorage Police Department said in a release that subscribers may soon notice differences in alerts from Nixle, which is used by law enforcement and other agencies to send out important community messages.

Nixle announced changes to the way it pushes out data, the department said. APD did not elaborate on what specific changes were being made, but said that in order for subscribers to ensure they receive all community messages, an email address should be attached to their Nixle accounts. This is optional, and you can receive notices to your phone without adding an associated email, but you will receive more communications from the department if you do add an email address.

"Nixle will still send some alerts via text on your cell phone," officials wrote. "However, this will only be done in situations wherein the public needs to immediately be notified of an ongoing situation such as road closures, public safety issues, or endangered missing people."

The department does not own Nixle, which is used to send messages across agencies around the United States but is targeted to communities so that subscribers receive relevant messages. Urgent alerts will still be sent as text messages to subscribers' cell phones, but other communications will come via email.

For a more detailed list of those notices, the agencies that utilize Nixle, and to subscribe to updates from said agencies,

.

"Let’s be honest, if we were going to branch out, we’d buy something fun," APD officials joked in the release, "like an ice cream store, or a mountain-biking shop, or (let’s just say it) a doughnut factory."

To opt-in to Nixle on your cell phone, send a text with your zip code to 888-777.

To either add your email or verify that you've done so, head over to the

and click, “Resident Login." That's at the top of the page. Here, you may also sign up for notices from other local departments that utilize Nixle for community communications, such as Alaska State Troopers, the Anchorage Fire Department, the Anchorage Health Department and others.

"Knowledge is power," officials wrote. "Stay informed by those who serve you and your neighbors."