Moves are taking place that demonstrate that the new Woodbury County jail facility is readying to house prisoners in the near future in Sioux City.
After months of delays, county officials announced that property insurance was placed on it last week, and as of Monday the utilities became a county expense.
Those procedural steps are following the determination that enough of the facility is completed to begin moving in. That announcement came from members of the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Authority panel Tuesday as they signed a Certificate of Substantial Completion.
The bigger moves ahead will come when employees move into the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center and inmates are housed in the more than 400 cells. Some construction work still remains, and officials have slated an open house for some areas of the jail for September 18.
The new county building is on the northeast edge of Sioux City, and includes jail cells, offices and courtrooms. County officials determined several years ago that it was better to build a new facility, than to pay millions of dollars for repairs to the downtown jail across from the Woodbury County Courthouse that dates to 1987.
It has been a long road since a $54 million bond issue was passed by voters in March 2020, with many delays on getting open. With cost overruns, the price is now roughly $70 million.
The latest delay included getting a report this week to ensure that the functionality of seismic bracing was sufficient. Other problems that have delayed the building from opening for a year-plus have included not having fire dampers, plus overlooked mechanical elements.
Woodbury County Board members have previously picked a Des Moines law firm to investigate whether the delayed jail opening would cause financial harm to the county.
*Additionally, the Democratic National Convention that is playing out in Chicago is now on Day Three. A Sioux City Democratic delegate said she has been struck with a deluge of comments after she was prominently shown Tuesday evening.
Catelin Drey was just over the left shoulder, about two people away, of Iowa’s Rita Hart when on live broadcasts she announced the delegates who support Kamala Harris to be the nominee. Drey said she figured she might get some airtime, but not to the extent she did.
“If you rewatch the Iowa roll call, you will see just a full range of emotions flash across my face. So, I had a suspicion, but I didn’t think it would be quite so apparent. But that’s part of being a sturdy Midwestern gal, when you are almost six feet tall, that you usually make the shot,” Drey said.
In a Wednesday release, the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Democrats were focusing on attacks on Trump rather rather than airing issues.
Drey described being both extremely tired and yet energized due to the strong vibes of positivism to improve the lives of Americans from all walks of life.
“I obviously am looking forward to hearing Vice President Kamala Harris accept the nomination tomorrow night. But I truly am just soaking in all the amazing people whose stories you don’t hear every day, but who have so much in common with each other and with me,” she said.
Also on Tuesday, another Siouxlander, C.J. Peterson, of Carroll, on a social media post noted being grateful to have “ honored the legacy of Iowa’s former Senator Tom Harkin, author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and my grandparents, who were Deaf, by signing during @iowademocrats’ official @DemConvention roll call” in American Sign Language.
Drey said she is primed to come back to Siouxland to not only support Harris, but also Woodbury County and other Iowa Democratic candidates for November contests.
The South Dakota delegates cast all 20 of their votes for Harris, with that being announced by Chante Reddest, who is a member of the Lakota Tribe.
*Additionally, an Iowa man has received a sentence of mandatory life in prison without parole, for the shooting death of a police officer last year.
During sentencing, 44-year-old Kyle Ricke said he was sorry for killing Algona officer Kevin Cram.
“Every night, I pray for forgiveness for the family. I'm very regretful for the pain and hurt that I caused them, and I pray that one day that they can forgive me for my horrible actions," Ricke said.
Cram’s family, including his wife Lara, then addressed the convicted murderer, who ambushed his victim and shot him eight times at close range when he arrived to arrest Ricke for a misdemeanor harassment charge.
“You not only destroyed a family and children's lives, but your own family and an entire community with your selfishness," Lara Cram said.
The packed Kossuth County courtroom also heard an emotional recording of one of Cram’s three sons crying because he misses his dad.
