The Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center Authority in Friday release toSiouxland Public Media News says the $70 million county jail will be deemed substantially completed either later today or Monday.
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.
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.
Workers could begin moving into the jail shortly. An open house for the public to see the building has been set for September 18.
The new county jail is on the northeast edge of Sioux City, and includes jail cells, offices and courtrooms in the building.
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, repairs to Riverfront Trail in Sioux City will be costly and take until next year to complete.
City and state transportation department officials are giving an urgent request for people to obey barricades on a three-mile stretch of the trail west of Chris Larsen Park to Riverside Park. Offenders could face a $10,000 fine.
The Iowa Department of Transportation in a Friday press conference estimated the total cost to fix a mile along the Big Sioux River and Interstate 29 at around $8 million. The trail was damaged after historic river levels of the Big Sioux River in late June.
DOT engineer Jessica Felix said the work is challenging.
“The slope is so unstable, and as the Big Sioux recedes, we have scour damages that we cannot always see with the naked eye. And we dumped a load of rock, (then) 30 seconds later, 2500 tons of rock ended up in the Big Sioux River,” Felix said.
Emergency repairs are expected to be completed this fall, and Felix says part of the trail could reopen for pedestrians sometime next year.
*There is news about the Iowa House District 13 contest for the November election. A new independent No Party candidate will be on the ballot, as Parker Hansen, of Correctionville, has successfully filed by the August 24 deadline for No Party candidates.
In a release, Hansen described himself as a conservative who will support the values and concerns of all the people in District 13, without the constraints of party affiliation.
Additionally, on Thursday the Democratic Party candidate, Rosanne Plante, of Hinton, challenged Republican Travis Sitzmann, of LeMars, to a series of debates to be held in August, September and October. The House District 13 seat is open because Representative Ken Carlson is not seeking re-election.
*The long-anticipated connection between the Raccoon River Valley Trail and High Trestle Trail in Central Iowa opens on August 17.
The trail extension from Woodward to Perry creates a nearly continuous 120-mile paved loop for bikers, runners and walkers.
Andrea Boulton is the trails and community conservation director for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, one of the partners behind the nine-mile project that’s been years in the making.
“There’s so much excitement to see this project finally come to fruition,” Boulton said.
Boulton says the new segment links two iconic and nationally recognized trails, and makes the network a destination for Iowans and out-of-state visitors.
To mark the opening, the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association has organized a bike ride and ribbon cutting on Saturday.
Boulton says there are more trails to come, as part of a big vision for trails in Iowa. One involves filling in gaps across the Great American Rail Trail
