Q: My son is 5 and very curious about the community’s severe weather alert system. Can you tell me where our community alert sirens are in West Mankato, who turns them on and how it is determined how long they stay on?

A: Mike Maurer, chief deputy and emergency management director for the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department, had the answers.

The sirens are located near the entrance to the city of Skyline, in a courtyard where Skyline Drive splits into two.

They’re activated by dispatchers in Blue Earth County’s Justice Center using a computer program. They turn the sirens on whenever the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning or a certified weather spotter reports a tornado in the county.

The sirens stay on for three minutes, but can be re-activated if the warning is extended or if it expires and a new one is issued.

Q: What type of restrictions are in place for power generating wind turbines in residential areas of Mankato?

A: The city of Mankato requests that someone looking to add a wind tower to their roof submit engineering designs to show the roof can withstand both the weight of the turbine and the stress caused by the wind pushing against it.

Most roofs are not designed for that type of load, Mankato Community Development Director Paul Vogel said.

Also, the base of the turbine cannot occupy more than 25 percent of the roof.

Any electrical wiring also needs to be inspected by the state electrical inspector approved by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.

The department requires that people submit a form requesting an inspection before the work begins, and the wiring itself must be inspected before it’s concealed.

Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, P.O. Box 3287, Mankato, MN 56002. Call the newsroom at 344-6397 or e-mail your question to editor@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line. This Ask Us was compiled by Free Press staff writer Dan Linehan.