Norfolk to use $50,000 grant for new bilingual signs and iPads for translation purposes

NORFOLK, Neb. (KTIV) - The City of Norfolk will enhance some of its services and signs to be bilingual with the help of a grant.

Norfolk received one of 25 grants from T-Mobile, amounting to $50,000, to enhance the town through its language access initiative, called “VozNorfolk”.

On Wednesday, T-Mobile presented the check to the city.

With the money, the city is going to install new bilingual signs around parks like Johnson Park.

It will also fund iPads to help first responders, some city buildings, and the public library to provide in-person translation for non-English speaking residents.

“Right now, we use over-the-phone translation. But we don’t have FaceTime translation, so the iPad will be a better tool to have someone out there for our police officers, if they have someone that doesn’t speak their language to have someone in the iPad facetiming them and then giving them direction without them guessing what the police officer wants them to do,” said HR Specialist and Laguage Navigator for the City of Norfolk, Gustavo Magana.

He adds that these purchases for the projects will start as soon as possible.

T-Mobile says it is investing $25 million spread around 500 rural towns over five years.

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