So what would cause my scanner to randomly say this for state police frequencies? It was working fine till all transmissions stopped and now it says finding control channel.
It is unable to find a control channel on any frequency programmed for that system. This could be because the control channel changed to one you've not programmed or the control channel is not receivable (like being out of range).
Either you don't have the correct control channel frequency or you are out of range of the control channel. This is assuming the scanner hears other transmissions and is working correctly.