Woodbury County officials continue to push to finish building a new jail facility by April, after it wasn’t opened in 2023. On Tuesday, the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center Authority took the step of hiring their own outside mechanical engineer after another overlooked building element was found.
LEC Authority member Mark Nelson, who is also a Woodbury County Board of Supervisors member, told Siouxland Public Media News that too many delays have taken place, but he said the jail appears to be on track to open on April 9.
On Wednesday afternoon, county supervisors Keith Radig and Nelson toured the facility. Radig said he wants to be optimistic for the projected April opening timing, but has some nagging doubts.
The jail project was expected to be done in September, but in late summer it was found that 38 fire dampers were missing from the building. Nelson said then another vexing discovery was made about a month ago, in two more dampers had been left off plans and have to be added.
He said that’s why the LEC Authority on Tuesday for $9,400 hired Resource Consulting Engineers of Ames to serve as their own outside mechanical engineer.
“We cannot have any more surprises,” Nelson said.
Nelson said some good news is that on Tuesday the offices for the county sheriff and county attorney are completed, as are the courtrooms in the facility.
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.
The added construction time is expected to nearly add $1.8 million dollars to a project that's already cost nearly $70 million.
Additionally, Morningside University on Wednesday announced receipt of a $7.5 million dollar financial gift from a man who graduated from there.
Dave Honeck, was in the Morningside Class of 1975, and said he enjoyed his college experience and wanted to give back to the university. The money will be directed to direct student support, plus also to support innovative new programs, college officials announced in a release.
Honeck is a native of Early, Iowa. He played football and track at Morningside, later became an attorney in Denver, Colorado, and has moved back to Sioux City in retirement.
In other college-related news, there will soon be an opening for the president position on the Iowa Board of Regents, which is the entity that oversees Iowa’s public universities.
Mike Richards announced on Tuesday that he will exit the board in April. Richards has served on the board since 2016, and in his statement announcing the decision, he did not give a reason why.
Richards said he’s making the announcement now to allow for a smooth leadership transition and to give Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds time to appoint a new board member. He said he’s proud of what the board has accomplished over the past seven years.
Sherry Bates is now the interim president.
*In other news, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, was hospitalized with an infection on Tuesday.
Grassley is the oldest member of the Senate. In a statement his office said he is in good spirits, and that he would return to work after doctors clear him for that. The statement did not give any additional details about his condition.
The Iowa caucuses were held Monday evening, and Grassley provided some comments to national media later in the evening.
Grassley is 90 years old, and his six-year term runs through 2028. He is the longest-serving U.S. senator from Iowa, and the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history.
