Siren test fails in Mankato area due to unknown malfunction

Tornado sirens wailed throughout Minnesota on Wednesday, except in the Mankato area, where officials say an unknown malfunction prevented sirens in south-central Minnesota from going off.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that none of the county's sirens worked during a monthly test at 1 p.m. Nearby sirens in North Mankato, in Nicollet County, also failed because they're connected to the Blue Earth County system.

Emergency personnel are working to identify and fix the system's issues. An additional test will take place once the sirens are working again. County officials say other warning systems will be used, including federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) text messaging, if severe weather takes place before the sirens are fixed.