Amanda Holmes, city communications manager, said they hope citizens will utilize this service resulting in less snow left behind and no vehicles needing to be towed.

The platform is called TextMyGov and Holmes said Fort Dodge has been using it since March as a communication tool for citizens.

“It’s just another tool that we have available to make sure that residents both downtown and in the residential areas know when we’re coming through,” said Holmes.

If you prefer not to receive text alerts, Holmes said they always post notifications on the city’s Facebook page and alert media outlets when they will be utilizing snow routes.

Those who wish to opt into alerts just need to text a keyword to the phone number “91896”. Currently there are four keywords for different types of alerts. Text the keyword FORTDODGE for general alerts, FDCOMSNOW for commercial snow route alerts, FDRESSNOW for residential snow route alerts, and FDROADCLOSURE for road closure alerts.

To learn more ways to use TextMyGov, visit fortdodgeiowa.gov/textmygov.