WASHINGTON, D.C. &045; Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) and Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn) announced $16,200 in federal funding for the City of Freeborn Thursday. The funding was awarded as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These funds will be used for fire operations and firefighter safety training.

&uot;I am pleased to announce this award for the City of Freeborn,&uot; Wellstone said. &uot;I hope this will allow for more advanced fire safety efforts and improve the safety of the Freeborn community.&uot;

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide $100 million in grants to fire departments nationwide this year to assist in local fire fighting prevention efforts. The grant is the sixth allocation of these funds under the program.