One of the organizers of the Facebook group, “Iowa Educators for a Safe Return to School’ put out a statement on social media about the decision by the Sioux City Community School District to have students attend in-person class two times a week. Jeremy Dumkrieger said “Thank you Sioux City Schools, I’m a little less worried about my kid. Hybrid classes wll cut down on exposure!” Dumkrieger, an art teacher from northwest Iowa, talked to Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer about the “Safe

In the past few months, thousands of people across the country received mysterious packages of seeds in the mail from China. The USDA now says the packages contain seeds for more than a dozen different plants including mint, morning glory, cabbage rosemary and sage. Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer looks at the growing concern for a few in Siouxland as well. Local extension experts once again say if you do happen to end up with the seeds do not plant them because they could be damaging.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced candidates running for office try and become creative in reaching out to potential supports. Democrat J.D. Scholten gassed up his RV, nicknamed “Sioux City Sue” and hit the road after a hiatus of several months. He goes head-to-head in the 4 th Congressional District after his challenger, Randy Freenstra of Hull beat long-time incumbant, Steve King. Scholten was on the road when he talked to Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer about the campaign, a strained

On Tuesday afternoon, Former Vice President Joe Biden named onetime rival Kamala Harris as his running mate. The California senator, was one of about two dozen Democrats who spent time in Iowa and even here in Siouxland trying to secure the nomination for President. Harris dropped out of the Presidential race in December, just two months before the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses. It was back on July 5 th of last year, when candidate Kamala Harris spoke to an overflow audience of around 350

A dozen more people in the state of Iowa have died of complications of COVID-19, including two more deaths in Plymouth County. The statewide death toll is now 950. During a 24-hour period that ended at 10 this morning, there were more than 450 new cases of the novel coronavirus in Iowa. Siouxland District Health reported five new additional cases in Woodbury County. Health officials in Dakota County are tracking two more cases of COVID-19. Meanwhile, football practice is on hold in South Sioux

Air service from Sioux City to Denver will take flight again starting in October. During a news conference Tuesday afternoon Mayor Bob Scott announced the addition of United Express flights operated by Skywest Airlines. The first flight from the Sioux Gateway Airport is scheduled to take off on October 14 th . The daily flight will be onboard 50-passenger CRJ200 jet aircraft. From Denver, United Airlines provides 460 daily flights to more than 170 destinations. The last time Sioux City had a

Fireworks 1 081020 After a large increase in complaints on and around the Fourth of July, the Sioux City Council today discussed a new ban on fireworks, but took no action. Fireworks complaints increased 80 percent for the month of June compared to a year ago. Currently, fireworks may only be legally discharged within city limits between the hours of 1 and 11 p.m. on July 3 and 4, on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. But residents say they have heard fireworks going off in their neighborhoods

A line of thunderstorms Monday morning sent high winds, along with some rain and hail, over eastern Nebraska and into Iowa, knocking down tree limbs and causing power outages. High winds did blow down a few light poles on the campus of Western Iowa Tech Community College. The storms raced over parts of eastern Nebraska before 9 a.m. Monday, bring wind gusts of up to 70 mph. Omaha Public Power District reported more than 55,500 customers without power in Omaha and surrounding communities. By 10 a

An open letter today to Iowans from Governor Kim Reynolds says “now isn’t the time to let our guard down”. She released a video statement this afternoon, reflecting on the five months since the first positive cases of COVID-19 cases in Iowa. "COVID-19 has tested each of us, and it will continue to. But we can’t let it deter or divide us. When emotions are high and opinions are strong, it’s important to take a step back and realize that we’re all working toward the same goal. And even though we

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds provided a few more details on Thursday about requirements for school districts for in-person learning this fall. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is requiring schools to hold at least half of their core lessons in person. Reynolds held a news conference this morning in Des Moines where she was joined by a superintendent of a small district in southeast Iowa. Reporters who attended questioned Reynolds about issues facing larger districts in the state. She says talks have