Olivia, Bird Island, Danube fire departments receive state grants

Fire departments in several southwestern Minnesota communities have received grants on Monday to improve their service planning.

The City of Olivia received $25 thousand from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Fire Marshall Division. The funding will be used for the Olivia, Bird Island, and Danube fire departments to learn techniques for being more efficient with available financial, equipment, and personnel resources.

Also, Nobles County received $25 thousand to study ways to improve collaborative or mutual aid fire services.

The Department of Public Safety awarded a total of $150 thousand to fire departments across the state.