By Staff
Special to The Standard
Alabama is one of five states competitively selected by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices to participate in the Public Safety Wireless Communications Interoperability Policy Academy.
The honor comes with a $50,000 grant for the Alabama Department of Homeland Security, Gov. Bob Riley said on Tuesday.
John Thomasian, director of the Center for Best Practices, said in a letter to Riley, &#8220Your state's commitment to addressing the complex challenges of advancing interoperability was an important factor in selecting your state to participate.”
The other state winners were Indiana, Minnesota, Montana, and Washington. Under Governor Riley's leadership, in 2003 Alabama became the first state in the nation to create its own legislatively enacted Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security.  Last month, the Alabama Department of Homeland Security received the nation's highest effectiveness ranking for a state homeland security program as determined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.