April 14–20, 2024 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, when we get to celebrate our 13 Public Safety Telecommunicators (PSTs) and how they help keep our community safe.

They are the unseen heroes in our city as the first voice a caller hears, providing reassurance that help is on the way. 

In Eden Prairie we have our own 911 Emergency Communications Center that handles all police, fire and ambulance calls in the city. In addition, our PSTs manage non-emergency calls after regular business hours such as broken water mains, urgent road repairs and malfunctioning signal lights. Last year dispatchers fielded 45,765 calls.

Our PSTs know our officers and firefighters, as well the city itself — its infrastructure, streets, parks, shopping areas, schools, etc. — and are therefore able to provide customized service to people who call 911. Their ability to multitask, effectively communicate and remain calm, sometimes under extreme pressure, is imperative to keeping officers, firefighters and residents safe. For that we say thank you and happy National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week!