Woodbury County officials have been working to fill many vacant positions in the County Attorney Office.
An administrative judge has ruled that the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors chairman worked too zealously, violating state labor law with an offer to deliver higher attorney wages if they disbanded their union that collectively bargains for benefits.
County Board chairman Matthew Ung led the process of the county supervisors in working on a memorandum of understanding to direct more pay to entice people to come work for the County Attorney’s Office. In August, only 10 of the 18 assistant county attorney positions were filled.
Members of the local union of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 61, rejected that proposal for higher pay and benefits in late August. At the time, Ung blasted that union decision, which led the union to take action against Ung for violating an Iowa code that gives protections to union members.
As first reported Tuesday by KCAU News, the administrative judge said Ung’s release could be categorized as his opinion, but it “crossed over from noncoercive statements and/or opinions into unlawful interference when he raised the prospect that employees would receive greater employment benefits if they voted to dissolve the Union.”
Ung on Wednesday told Siouxland Public Media that he accepts the ruling, and is not going to appeal.
*In other news, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wants to shift temporary tax cuts to become permanent, while fully funding a proposed men’s prison facility outside of Sioux Falls.
In a Tuesday address that aired her priorities for the 2025 Legislature session, Noem recommended a 1.25 percent increase for schools, state employees, and healthcare providers.
While the Republican governor cautions that revenues are down, she wants to establish a funding program for private and alternative schooling.
Noem wants to put $4 million into a program called education savings accounts, or ESA’s, to give students about $3,000 each to pay for education other than at public schools. Noem said the state will not cut any dollars from public education, but critics call it a voucher program.
While popular among some Republicans, the move is not universally supported within the governor’s own party. That includes Brookings Rep. Mellissa Heermann, who had questions about the proposal.
“As someone who really cares about public education, that’s something that’s concerning for me," Heermann said.
Incoming Senate Democratic Minority Leader Liz Larson said she needs to see details on how ESA funding will affect public schools.
The governor also wants to make a temporary 0.3 percent sales tax reduction permanent. That cut amounts to roughly $115 million annually.
*Additionally, wetlands in Iowa help prevent nearly $500 million in flooding damage each year, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The report’s author, Stacy Woods, on Wednesday said wetlands are natural floodwater barriers. They absorb and slow down rushing water like a sponge.
But federal data from 2009 to 2019 shows a decline in the number of wetlands, especially in the Prairie Pothole region, Great Lakes and Southeast.
Woods says that trend could accelerate. A U.S. Supreme Court decision last year stripped away federal protections in the Clean Water Act for many wetlands.
“It’s critically important that we really step up to protect the wetlands that remain, because we're going to need them as our flooding frequency increases with this warming climate,” said Woods.
Along with flood mitigation, the report says wetlands provide habitat and food for roughly half of the endangered species in the U.S. They also act as natural pollution filters for drinking water.
*Additionally, the NAIA college women’s volleyball championship tournament started on Wednesday at the Tyson Events Center in downtown Sioux City.
The tourney is a boost for people who like to watch top flight competition and also for the local economy.
This is the 45th annual NAIA volleyball championships, and it has been played in Sioux City for many years.
The top-seeded team is a local squad, from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, and that squad won its first match 3-1 over William Carey.
Pool play for the tourney will reduce the field of 24 teams to the final four teams by Saturday.
Those teams will meet in semi-final matches on Monday, December 9, then the 2024 NAIA championship will take place the next day.
