Sioux City is anticipating nearly 40,000 guests this weekend as more than 25,000 cyclists will depart Sioux City on Sunday, July 23 for the 50th annual Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa® (RAGBRAI).
The city says road closures and departure routes for cyclists and support vehicles are outlined below to assist residents as they plan their travel for this weekend. For information go to ragbraisiouxcity.com.
The Sioux City Farmers Market is getting a temporary home Saturday, inside of the Great Southern Bank parking lot. The farmers market is usually held in the parking lot adjacent to the Tyson Events Center. But this weekend that site will be gearing up for the first day of RAGBRAI.
On Monday, The Sioux City School Board will choose an interim board member to fill the position vacated by Perla Alarcon-Flory. The deadline for submitting letters of interest is 5 pm tomorrow (Thursday, July 20).
So far, nine people have submitted papers to be considered for that seat: Chad Krastel, Maria Rundquist, Philip Hamman, Shaun Broyhill, Julie Berens, Eric Boe, Semehar Ghebrekidan, Tashsa Cowan and Ryan Baker.
West High Graduate and Teacher Marguerite Cortez says is running for one of the four, four-year terms that will open on the school board this fall.
She will also put her name in for the short-term appointment to fill the seat vacated by Alarcon-Flory until the election.
Cortez works for the Omaha Nation Public School in Macy, Nebraska. She is a 1996 West High graduate, a wife and a mom of three, all of whom graduated from Sioux City Schools.
Trisha rivers of Sioux City has also announced her candidacy for a seat on the Sioux City Community School District Board
Rivers works as the Siouxland project director for the indigenous-led non-profit Great Plains Action Society. She is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and serves on many boards and committees in the region.
Nebraska’s 988 suicide prevention and mental health crisis line marked its first anniversary Sunday having handled double the number of calls answered by its predecessor.
The year-old operation is part of the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a national effort organized at the state level to meet the growing need for crisis intervention and save lives, according to the Omaha World Herald.
Michelle Nunemaker, the 988 Nebraska state administrator said the national nature of the lifeline has brought attention to it.
But the main reason the Nebraska line has received so many more calls is because 988 is more than just a suicide prevention lifeline. It handles mental health and substance abuse crises, which expands the pool of callers.
State senator Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center announced this week he will run for reelection in senate district 2, reports Radio Iowa. It includes the northern half of Plymouth County, and the southern half of Sioux County.
Taylor plans a campaign kickoff and fundraiser Thursday, july 27th at 7 p.m. at the Sioux Center Public Library.
