Turnover on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors will take place in a few days, as changes that are happening because of the November election outcomes.
The county board has five members, and two new officeholders will be added in the meeting on Tuesday, December 31, at the Woodbury County Courthouse in downtown Sioux City.
All five members of the board are Republicans. The newest members to be sworn at the 9 a.m. meeting will be Kent Carper, a businessman and minister, and Dave Dietrich, a military member.
They will take the seats held by Keith Radig and Jeremy Taylor for more than eight years. Also to be sworn in is Supervisor Mark Nelson, who 1.5 years ago was appointed to an open seat, and in November Nelson won a full four-year term.
There will also be a new Woodbury County Auditor, as Republican Michelle Skaff will take office after defeating Pat Gill, who held the position for the last 28 years.
*Additionally, a University of Iowa researcher has found practicing gratitude can have many positive impacts on our overall health.
Harleah Buck says the practice of gratitude has been linked to many benefits in our bodies such as improving heart health and reducing inflammation.
Buck is a professor of gerontological nursing at the University of Iowa. She’s conducted a few studies on how the practice of gratitude can affect our bodies.
She says she expected the practice to help boost your mood. But she was surprised by some of the physiological benefits.
“What I was not expecting at all was the fact that actually our venous system and our arterial system responds to it...that they work better,” Buck said.
Buck says people who want to practice gratitude can start by writing down something they are grateful for every day or just expressing more gratitude to those around them.
