• About Polk County Iowa ARES

• Scheduled Meetings: for 2024

• How to become a Polk County ARES member

• Events Information

• Sign-up for ARES Events

• Iowa Area Nets

• Downloads

About Polk County Iowa ARES

The purpose of ARES—Amateur Radio Emergency Service—of Polk County Iowa is to provide emergency radio communications for Polk County and surrounding communities when officially activated via authorized agency.

Polk County Emergency Coordinator is Jason Walerius KEØIAV.

ARES members volunteer their time and expertise to support public service agencies when normal communications facilities are not functioning or are overloaded due to planned or unplanned events. We also provide communications support for non-profit community events, which not only helps the community, but gives us live experience in handling traffic for agencies that might call upon us for emergency communications in the future. For more information about the role of ARES in national public service communications, visit the American Radio Relay League official page on the subject.

POLK COUNTY ARES Emergency Operations Plan (99.8k PDF)

Scheduled Meetings:

Tuesday, July 16th, 2024

Meeting Time: 7:00 PM

Meeting Location:
Polk County Emergency Operations Center,
1907 Carpenter, Des Moines, Iowa

Jason Walerius, KEØIAV
Polk County Emergency Coordinator
Email KEØIAV

(319) 360-7001  (cellular)

How to become a Polk County ARES member.

Attend the quarterly Polk County ARES meetings. This is a requirement as the first step to becoming a member.

You are welcome to check in as a visitor to the weekly net to learn more about upcoming activities.

Polk County ARES has no monetary dues at this time, but members pay membership “dues” by volunteering their time at events, checking in regularly to the weekly Thursday night Net, attending meetings, and attending training sessions.

Membership in Polk County Iowa ARES is open to anyone who holds an amateur radio license and is a resident in the Polk County Iowa region. Having your own transport is always a real asset because during an emergency members need be able to move around quickly as the situation demands.

The primary role of ARES is to provide backup communications to agencies following a major emergency or disaster. You should have a keen desire to want to be prepared for emergency situations and help to provide emergency communications to the various agencies in and around Polk County Iowa when needed. ARES members are not first responders, however if you happen to be close to an emergency or disaster then you are in a unique position to alert the authorities and report by radio any damage that you observe.

Polk County ARES also provides communications support for several Public Service Events and drills to use as training tools. Participation in these events allows you to participate in actual nets and learn the required protocols for operation.

ARES Registration Form 9-15

Events Information

Members of Polk County Iowa ARES are encouraged to participate in these events as a way to train for and be prepared for emergency situations. When details are available, more event information will be posted on the Events Information page.

My First ARES Event  What do I need to know?

The September issue of QST had nice discussion concerning your first ARES event,  Click here to read it→ Your First Amateur Radio Event

Public Service Event Guidelines
Please read the guidelines below.

Polk County ARES Public Service Event Guidelines. (93k PDF)

If you want to volunteer or need more information,
Please contact:

Jason Walerius, KEØIAV
Polk County Emergency Coordinator
Email KEØIAV

(319) 360-7001 (cellular)

Events:

Sign-up & Schedule for ARES Events

Iowa Area Nets

Downloads

Public Service Event hints: (60k PDF)
Tactical Call Signs: (96k PDF)
Tactical Callsigns Standard Operating Procedure. (60k PDF)

Training Downloads

Here you will find various ARES files available for download. There is a wealth of information contained on this page, such as Schedules, scripts and links to other agencies offering free emergency preparedness classes that you may take online.

Web Sites:

FEMA Classes

ARRL Emergency Communication Courses

Emergency Communications Forms:

ARES Registration Form 9-15

FSD-255: Emergency Reference Information Card (59k PDF)

FSD-220: Handy Operating Aid. (76k PDF)

FSD-218: Amateur Message Form Instructions. (60k PDF)

FSD-3: ARRL Numbered Radiograms. (42k PDF)

ICS 214a-OS: Individual Log (16k PDF)

ICS 214-OS: Entire Unit Log (19k PDF)

RadioGram 1 (16k PDF)

RadioGram 2 (270k PDF)

RadioGram 3 (9k PDF)

POLK COUNTY ARES Emergency Operations Plan:

Emergency Operations Plan (99.8k PDF)

Des Moines Frequency List:

DMRAA Freq Guide April 2022

R.A.C.E.S. 

Who-is-RACES

RACES REGISTRATION FORM310 

Polk County Iowa:

Polk County Basic Emergency Communications Test (80k PDF)

Polk County ARES Thursday Night Net Preamble