*Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents launched enforcement actions in Omaha on Tuesday, although details were scarce.
An ICE spokesperson confirmed that agents went to Glenn Valley Foods, 6824 J St.. and executed a federal search warrant, "based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States."
The spokesperson said the raid was "likely the largest to take place in Nebraska since the start of the current presidential administration."
It's not clear how many people were detained. Masked ICE officers drove unmarked cars while escorting a giant white bus with covered windows out of the Glenn Valley parking lot about 1 p.m.
Protesters screamed profanities at agents and threw water bottles at the cars. Many of the officers took videos of the cars at they drive through with lights blaring.
There were reports of actions at three other locations, but those were not confirmed.
One of those locations was the JBS Beef Plant, although a JBS spokesperson said that she had no knowledge of an immigration raid at the plant.
Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia said in a Facebook post that ICE also was at LALA Branding Products at 7122 J St., which is near the Glenn Valley Foods plant.
Omaha law enforcement officials confirmed that they had been asked by ICE to provide traffic control for the enforcement actions but did not have any other details, according to Nebraska Public Media.
*Additionally, another large sports complex could be coming next to the Lewis and Clark Park in the Singing Hills area of Sioux City.
The Sioux City Council members in their Monday meeting voted for a first-round approval of the sale of two acres of land along Line Drive for $50,000 to Siouxland Developers LLC.
Officials with that firm are planning a multi-sport complex that could cost $5 million. It could provide more sports venues to those already available about a mile away at the Siouxland Sports Academy.
The proposal received a lot of praise from the council, and the facility over 65,000 square feet could include five basketball courts, a dance academy, baseball training pieces and more.
Developers also said the facility would provide a year-round athletic opportunity for the region, including for youth sports programs.
The final council vote on the sale is set for mid-July. If that is approved, construction could quickly follow by August and be completed by the end of 2026.
*In other news, the latest Kids Count report ranks Iowa ninth in the nation for child well-being.
Iowa’s highest ranking in the annual report from the Annie Casey Foundation is sixth in the country for economic well being, and the state’s lowest ranking is 20th for education.
Anne Discher, who is executive director of Common Good Iowa, says the education category stood out to her.
She says Iowa’s number of kids enrolled in preschool, math and reading proficiency in certain grades, and on-time high school graduation rates got worse from 2019 to 2023.
Discher says many things contribute to success in school, including if they are well fed, and come from secure families that have stable housing.
Discher says there’s room for improvement on policies to support kids, even in areas where Iowa is doing well compared to other states.
*Additionally, the Sioux City School Board has rejected bids on the West and North High pool improvement projects because they were too high.
The estimated amount of the project for both of the pools was $510,000. The low bid came back at $719,000, which was $200,000 over the estimated budget.
The North High pool cost alone was estimated at $289,000, and when the bid came back it was $439,000.
The board took the action in a 5-1 vote in their Monday meeting.
Director of Operations and Maintenance, Tim Paul said there is a busy construction season going on, so it is best to wait and seek new bids in the fall.
If the project happens, one pool at a time would be worked on, so that there will always be one pool operational in the schools.
