ALGONA—Kossuth County Emergency Medical Service is down to four paramedics and the search for new personnel is competing with other local, regional and statewide agencies who are facing shortages of their own.

Phil Albers, the Kossuth EMS director, told the board of supervisors last week that between the Algona and Swea City centers, the organization has three paramedics on duty each day. “That makes things pretty tight,” he said.