Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds returned to Northwest Iowa on Monday to check on the progress of disaster recovery, after historic flooding struck the area in June.
Reynolds first toured Correctionville in Woodbury County with Mayor Ken Bauer. It was her first visit to the town since it was flooded by the Little Sioux River, and Bauer earlier this fall had criticized her for not visiting the community of 750 people.
“The recovery, I think, is off to a good start,” Reynolds said.
“Good Start, good start,” Bauer said.
“But still things that we need to look at, we're talking about bringing the team down and maybe setting down and looking at ways that we can really collaboratively think about how we can rebuild restructure and hopefully grow,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds also stopped in Rock Valley, where city leaders say more than 140 homes are beyond repair.
Reynolds said the state asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover 100 percent of the cost of the flood, but is only going to get 75 percent. State and local governments could perhaps cover the rest.
*Additionally, the task force that lawmakers created to make recommendations about Iowa’s Area Education Agencies has decided it needs more information before doing that.
That decision came after the task force met for five hours on Monday.
The Iowa Legislature made changes this year to the funding and structure of AEAs, which provide special education and other services to Iowa schools.
The new law includes a task force to suggest improvements, but those members now say they’re lacking the data they need to move forward.
The task force is requesting information about special ed funding, AEA staffing, and the impact of the new law. They plan to reconvene early next year.
The superintendent of the Mediapolis School District proposed recommending that the Legislature delay part of the new law that will divert some special education funding from the AEAs to school districts, but the majority of the task force rejected that recommendation.
*In other news, for the second time in two months, some people used the public forum part of the Sioux City School Board meeting to say the process of hiring a new superintendent needs to be transparently carried out.
Superintendent Rod Earleywine will retire at the end of the school year in June 2025. Board members have hired a recruiting firm to undertake a wide search for a new superintendent, and some community meetings to inform that search were held at the city high schools in October.
A few weeks ago, district Assistant Superintendent Angela Bemus said she is not interested in the superintendent post.
Also in the school board meeting, the members approved upgrades for the security cameras in all 21 district buildings.
That money will come from a state grant designed to improve security in Iowa K-12 schools, with $50,000 for each school, or roughly $1 million in the Sioux City School District.
*Additionally, on the heels of another NAIA college women’s volleyball national championship set to be determined Tuesday night in Sioux City, sports officials announced that a first-ever Iowa state championship will be coming to the city as well in 2025.
That event will be the championship for high school baseball in Classes 3A and 4A for one year at Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City, then it is planned to return to Cedar Rapids for 2026 and beyond.
Sioux City officials said getting a high school championship marks a significant milestone for Sioux City, reinforcing the region's position as a premier destination for high-profile sporting events. Such events drive tourism, boost the local economy, and showcase the city’s facilities.
The Class 1A and 2A tournaments will still take place at Merchants Park in Carroll for 2025 through 2028.
The NAIA volleyball championship match this evening pits Bellevue University of Nebraska and Indiana Wesleyan, who is the defending national champion.
