SPM News

The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Wednesday 11,588 new positive cases in the past seven days. The number of new COVID-19 infections remains on the rise in Iowa as state health officials are reporting more than 11 thousand new cases have been confirmed in the past week. Nearly 30 percent of the new cases are reported to be in children 17 and under. The state is reporting 578 Iowans are currently hospitalized with the virus. That’s the same number as last week. And 78 percent of those

The Sioux City Community Schools District’s new virtual learning academy the “Vibe Academy” uses the slogan “Learning Without Limits”. However, one local advocate says some students with disabilities are left out of equation. During Wednesday's special school board meeting surrounding masks in the Sioux City Community School District, some citizens talked about a virtual option for parents to send their children. However, as Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer reports that option is not

On Wednesday, September 15th the city of Sioux City launches a new Community Speak-Out series to serve as a citizen listening session for city departments. The first one starts at noon at the Sioux City Public Museum with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Siouxland Public Media’s Mary Hartnett talked to Sioux City’s new Inclusion Liaison Semehar Ghebrekidan about this open dialogue and her thoughts on the current atmosphere of the community. Ghebrekidan made her comments after Monday’s City

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon for the new Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center. The new facility is located on 28 th street just off of Highway 75. Controversy surrounds some of the funding for the facility. In March of last year, voters approved a bond issue of more than $50 million for the project. The Woodbury County Law Enforcement Authority now puts the total price tag at about $65 million. The County Board of Supervisors allocated $15.6 million in Federal

Just hours after a federal judge blocked Iowa’s law banning mask mandates, the Sioux City Community School Board agreed vote on the issue. It will take place tomorrow at 3 p.m., instead of noon. Board vice-president Monique Scarlett put forth the motion, saying the mask mandate could help stop the spread of the very contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus. School Superintendent Paul Gausman agreed that it was time to bring back face coverings, but some students and staff are likely to be

A federal judge has ordered the state of Iowa to immediately halt enforcement of a law passed in May that prevents school boards from ordering masks to be worn to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Judge Robert Pratt said in an order signed Monday that the law substantially increases the risk of several children with health conditions of contracting COVID-19. Several parents with children that have various medical conditions sued the state. Pratt says he has looked at data on the effectiveness

The Sioux City School Board is expected to discuss COVID-19 relief money spending at tonight’s meeting. The district received a third round of federal funding of almost $39 million. A new budget proposal calls for spending more money to help students who have fallen behind, from 20 to 40%. Board Member Dan Greenwell says he is worried about the implementation of the plan. “Talk is cheap, action much more subtenant in my book. I want to make sure we have action and not just talk.” Greenwell says

304 091021 Covid 19 cases and vaccinations are slowly rising in Woodbury County. As of facebook posting on Wednesday, Siouxland District Health said for the week beginning August 30 th , there were 287 new cases of COVID-19 in Woodbury County, and a positivity rate of 13.2 percent. There were 17 people hospitalized in Siouxland due to covid 19 and the vaccination rate is at 43.4 percent. Siouxland District Health says 29 percent of those new cases have been fully vaccinated. Another 5-10 percent

304 090921 The US Department of the Treasury will meet with Woodbury County residents online on Monday, Sept. 13, to discuss how federal funding guidelines could impact the proposed use of federal coronavirus funds. Some Woodbury County residents say they want to highlight possible issues with how the Board of Supervisors allocates funding to leadership in the Office of Recovery Programs. That’s after receiving over 250 letters from local residents about funding related to the American Recovery

This week on The Exchange, we hear the details of a new lawsuit filed against the state of Iowa over it’s ban on mask mandates in public schools. Also, how to wean yourself off your electronic devices, because you may not realize you are addicted. And we talk with some of the artists from last weekend’s ArtSplash event, and also with the one of co-founders of the Sioux City International Film Festival that is coming up in October. We also talk with the artist who painted a new mural on West 7th