The Faces of Siouxland Multicultural Fair will take place for a 34th year on Sunday, March 30, but that will be the last time it will be held.
In a city of Sioux City press release from Tuesday, it was noted that unspecified budget cuts that are expected in next year will unfortunately end the multicultural fair.
The Faces of Siouxland Multicultural Fair is the biggest annual event carried out by the city’s Human Rights Commission. Each year, a few thousand people attend the free fair, where they can celebrate many cultures in the community through music, art, dance, and food.
As Sioux City Council members work to set a 2025-26 year budget by next month, they have cited the loss of more than $3 million due to some state money that will no longer flow to the city.
At the first council meeting in March, council members tentatively decided to decrease the Human Rights Commission budget by $140,000. Several Sioux City residents in that meeting criticized the planned cuts.
*As lawmakers in the South Dakota Legislature work towards ending the session on the planned timeline of Thursday, some final big pieces remain to be settled.
Lawmakers on Wednesday discussed some possible changes to property tax details, and also sought to pinpoint the wage increase that could go to state employees such as teachers and health care workers.
Additionally, state House members on Tuesday agreed with Senate changes to a bill that at one point would have resulted in the possibility of jail time for librarians, if a minor patron accesses material considered harmful to minors.
Instead, the amended bill sets forth a proceeding for parents to object to books in school and public libraries.
*In other news, the inauguration of Briar Cliff University President Matthew Draud took place Wednesday afternoon in Sioux City.
People observed festivities that took place regarding installing him with pomp and circumstance in his role as the 13th president since the college was founded in 1930.
In his prior position before moving to Iowa, Draud was academic vice president of a Texas private college. He was selected in June 2024 by the Briar Cliff Board of Trustees, after being one of four finalists.
Briar Cliff has about 940 students. Draud has cited the quest of serving students very well, while meeting the Franciscan ideals that have guided Briar Cliff as an institution since it was founded by Catholic Church sisters.
Previous President Patrick Schulte was installed in 2023, and left less than a year later to work at another college in Missouri.
*Additionally, a teacher who has been at West High School since 2009 was named the Sioux City School District Teacher of the Year.
Jessie Cofield was recognized with the award during a surprise all-school assembly at West High School on Wednesday.
Cofield joined the school as an at-risk teacher, and now is a freshman seminar teacher at West.
Sioux City Superintendent Rod Earleywine said the distinct ability by Cofield to engage students and staff has made a lasting impact on the West High School community.
“Jessie unequivocally fosters a positive learning environment. Her tireless efforts to connect with students and co-workers has made her a valued colleague and outstanding educator,” Earleywine said. “She displays every quality that you would expect from an exemplary teacher.”
Cofield also taught in Chaska, Minnesota, before starting in the Sioux City District in 1999 as a softball coach at East High School.
*In other news, a few hundred people rallied in the Iowa Capitol rotunda Tuesday in support of Iowa’s LGBTQ community.
That event came less than two weeks after Iowa repealed protections for transgender Iowans in the civil rights code.
People waved LGBTQ rainbow flags and held signs reading “equality matters,” “stand up, fight back” and “hate has no home here.”
Max Mowitz is the executive director of One Iowa, which is an LGBTQ advocacy group which organized the event. He encouraged attendees to keep hope and stay disciplined, and to draw inspiration from the persistence of past LGBTQ activists.
“We will fight for our ancestors. We will fight for those that cannot leave the state. We will fight for future generations, because there are a hell of a lot of Iowans that deserve to be fought for and I want every one of them and anyone one of you to know that we’re here, we’ve got your back and you are worth fighting for,” Mowitz said, to applause.
Mowitz also encouraged attendees to keep lobbying their legislators.
EDITORS NOTE: A technology problem prevented this newscast from being published on March 12.
