By Lori EhdeCell phone users dialing 911 will get better emergency service in Rock County, thanks to grant money that’s allowing some local improvements.Dispatch Supervisor Terri Ebert learned last week that the Rock County Sheriff’s Department was approved for a $164,800 grant through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.The money will be used for hardware improvements that will make it possible for Rock County dispatchers to locate cell-phone users using Global Positioning System."If someone’s upside down in their vehicle in a blinding snowstorm, they call us, and we ask them where they are and lots of times they have no idea," Ebert told County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting.With Rock County’s current emergency system, 911 calls placed from residential locations automatically alert dispatchers where the call is coming from.Cellular 911 calls aren’t linked to this system."We’re getting cell 911 calls, but they’re coming up with no information," Ebert said.She said cell phone companies assign their users to geographic emergency centers, but since Rock County borders South Dakota and Iowa, it presents unique problems."We get calls from Iowa — way down in Iowa," she said.In addition to improving emergency cell service, the grant will allow Rock County to make related technical improvements in the Law Enforcement Center and to boost reception on the west side of the county with a 150-foot-high radio tower.Out of 110 applicants vying for $2.5 million in available grant dollars, Rock County was one of 17 recipients.This year has been a good year for emergency management money in Rock County, with a total of $220,000 granted so far in state and federal funding.Rock County has also been approved for an additional $50,000 in federal Homeland Security funding, and another 4,000 from the Minnesota Office of Domestic Preparedness.