Global technology outage: Minnesota agencies experiencing technology issues

Global tech outage impacting MSP Airport: The latest

A global technology outage is causing flight cancellations and disruptions at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and other airports nationwide on Friday morning. FOX 9's Se Kwon has the latest.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Various agencies and counties across Minnesota are reporting issues from the global technology outage on Friday morning.

Here’s what we know about the outage

The CEO of the cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike posted on X that the defect came from an update for Windows users, noting the issue was not a security incident or cyberattack.

The outage is leaving users around the world unable to access its cloud computing platforms and is also causing big problems for banks, airlines, media outlets, and more.

Law enforcement phone outages

Various law enforcement agencies have reported issues with their phone systems and 911 call services. The Faribault Police Department said Rice and Steele counties reported difficulties with their services but restored at 3:45 a.m. on Friday.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported phone issues with 911 service and informed residents to go to the local fire department if they could not get through to dispatch. Thankfully, the sheriff’s office said 911 is back up and running as normal.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office is reporting issues with its administrative number, but its 911 and non-emergency numbers are working as normal. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said it has had no disruptions for its 911 calls and is continuing to respond to emergencies.

"We are aware of the outage and our IT dept is working to ensure minimal impact on HCSO services," the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office posted on X. "Our 911 Emergency Communications Facility is functioning and there have been no disruptions in emergency response. We have been and continue to take 911 calls and respond."

Wyoming Police Department said its administrative phone lines and computer systems are currently down, but 911 is working and officers are being dispatched via radio.

Counties experiencing issues

Ramsey County posted on X Friday morning that many of their computers are down due to the outage and some services may not be available. A City of Minneapolis spokesperson told FOX 9 they have not experienced any issues related to the outage, but will continue to monitor the situation throughout the day.

Wright County said it is unable to process transitions at its licensing centers due to the widespread outage. The county said while it has not experienced a major disruption in its system, the system used for transactions at the center runs through the Minnesota Department of Motor Vehicles.

The county added systems for taxpayer services, including posting payments or searching for property tax-related information, are currently not working. County officials recommend calling before heading to the government center, as there is no current timeline for when the system will be back online.

State departments experiencing issues

Metro Transit is experiencing issues with disruptions to some systems, but trains and buses are still currently operating.

"We have experienced temporary disruptions to the systems customers use to access real-time information, trip planning tools, and our web store, among other applications. These systems, as well as buses and trains, are currently operating as intended. We will continue to monitor," Metro Transit posted on X.

Meanwhile, Minnesota State Park and Trails is reporting that its reservations system is temporarily down due to the outage. They posted on Facebook that their partner vendor is working on a solution to fix it.

The Minnesota Department of Administration said the outage has affected their computer networks and several systems, including the MNSHIP historic inventory and archeology portal, have been impacted.

A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety told FOX 9 that its Driver of Vehicle Services is experiencing issues from the nationwide tech outage. The department has been working to bring phones and computers back online, but the DVS Now Kiosks have not been impacted. Wright County reported they are having issues processing transactions at its licensing center.

State departments are reporting the outage is impacting their websites, including: