City of Springfield honored with 2024 LMC City of Excellence Award

The city of Springfield received the League of Minnesota Cities 2024 City of Excellence Award for the under 5,000 population category Thursday at the League’s Annual Conference in Rochester. Springfield was honored for its ambulance service recruitment initiative.

In 2019, the Springfield Ambulance Service encountered a critical need to build its emergency medical services (EMS) team. Down to six emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and emergency medical responders (EMRs), the ambulance service partnered with several community leaders to create a comprehensive recruitment initiative to encourage community members to join their team.

The initiative included a series of informational meetings aimed at generating the interest of recruits along with newspaper articles and social media posts that shared the state of the Springfield Ambulance Service. Ambulance staff also encouraged local businesses to allow employees to participate in on-call duties during work hours. Springfield City Council voted to allow city staff members to carry out on-call responsibilities. Local high school students were also encouraged to enroll in weekend EMR classes.

The initiative’s collaborative efforts helped the ambulance service enlist 18 new members. The successful recruitment initiative allowed Springfield Ambulance Service to address its immediate staffing needs and lay the foundation for a stronger emergency medical response system.

The City of Excellence Awards are given annually by the League of Minnesota Cities in three population categories and one topical category. The awards recognize cities for outstanding programs or projects. Each winning city will receive a plaque, a check for $1,000, and recognition in League publications and promotional activities throughout the coming year.

The League of Minnesota Cities is a membership organization dedicated to helping cities throughout Minnesota build quality communities through effective advocacy, expert analysis, trusted guidance, and collective action. The League serves over 830 member cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services.