SPM News

072919 504 In a couple of weeks, gamblers in Iowa can legally place bets on professional and college sporting events. Tomorrow the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is likely to approve rules for sports wagering and approve license applications made by 18 of Iowa’s 19 state-regulated casinos. One of them is the Sioux City Hard Rock Casino. Officials with the Iowa Medical Board says it’s rare for doctors to face disciplinary action like a Sioux City plastic surgeon faces. Late last week, the

072919 432 State regulators will vote tomorrow on rules allowing sports betting in Iowa. One of the venues is likely to be the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Sioux City. The legislature approved sports betting earlier this year. If the guidelines are adopted by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, the first wagers could be made as soon as mid-August. Most of the rules cover casinos and companies that contract sports betting technology. The rules also tell casinos and race tracks to create

The Nebraska Natural Resources Department has asked a national dam safety organization to investigate the failure of the Spencer Dam during the March flooding. The Association of State Dam Safety Officials says the independent investigation is expected to take six months with a goal of improving the dam safety industry's best practices. Officials have said the northern Nebraska dam failed March 14 under a rush of ice chunks and high water in the Niobrara River. The wall of water and ice

072619 432 The execution date for a notorious Iowa drug kingpin who killed witnesses and children in 1993 has been scheduled for Jan. 15. Formerly of Britt, Iowa, Dustin Honken was convicted for the murders of five people, including a mother and her two young daughters. Honken is among five federal death row inmates whose execution dates were announced yesterday by the Justice Department. His trial was held in Sioux City. The announcement came as Attorney General Bill Barr directed federal

072619 504 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, Nebraska, says repair work on a levee breach near Hamburg, Iowa, has been completed. The agency says the breach was one of four priority breaches to be closed in the wake of historic flooding along the Missouri River in March. The Corps says more than 500 miles of levees on the Missouri, Platte, and Elkhorn rivers, as well as other tributaries, experienced significant flood damage this year. Sioux City was hit hard when the Zenith plant

072619 432 The Sioux City Zenith plant closed more than 40 years ago, but a New York filmmaker is bringing it back to life. Jay Shapiro has been in Sioux City this week talking with former employees and their families for a new documentary. He has also been meeting with George Lindblade, who produced a documentary about the struggle to keep the Zenith plant open. You are literally up against a company who is trying to compete against other manufacturers in their space and in Zenith’s case, who

The Iowa Board of Medicine has taken action against a Sioux City plastic surgeon. A hearing is scheduled for October surrounding Dr. Adam Smith, a plastic surgeon with Tri-State Specialists. “I have done my best for my whole time in Siouxland here to provide the best care I can for patients,” said Dr. Adam Smith. The medical board alleges Dr. Smith failed to provide appropriate surgical care to 17 patients between December of 2014 to September of 2017. “From my standpoint it looks like they are

Iowa’s Junior U.S. Senator is emphasizing the need to care for migrants coming to the U.S., even as she reiterates her desire to secure the southern border. Republican Senator Joni Ernst recently returned from a trip to the Texas-Mexico border. Senator Ernst visited a few facilities at the border, including a port of entry facility and a shelter for children. She’s advocating for a permanent solution to what she calls a “humanitarian crisis” at the border. Providing care to migrants is non

072519 532 A Sioux City plastic surgeon facing action by the Iowa Medical Board says he expects to be vindicated. The board alleges Dr. Adam Smith failed to provide appropriate care to 17 patients from December 2014 to September of 2017. “I have done my best for my whole time in Siouxland here to provide the best care I can for patients.” A hearing on the allegations is scheduled for October. “From my standpoint, it looks like they are doing their due diligence, they are investigating and they

072519 504 The Iowa Board of Medicine has taken action against a Sioux City plastic surgeon. A hearing is scheduled for October for Dr. Adam Smith. The board alleges Dr. Smith failed to provide appropriate surgical care to seventeen patients between December of 2014 to September of 2017. Jena Reyes of Sioux City tells Siouxland Public Media News she is one of those patients. Reyes says she underwent a tummy tuck in August of 2017 to try and fix lower abdominal pain experienced after childbirth.