Woodbury County officials are looking at changing zoning rules to allow nuclear power.
At a Tuesday public hearing, about a half dozen people told the board of supervisors they oppose any plan to bring nuclear energy to Woodbury County. That included people with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the Sierra Club, plus Rita Iversen of Sioux City.
“I don't understand why this is even being considered, when across the United States, power plants, nuclear power plants are being closed instead of open. You have lots of sun here for solar, you have lots of wind, so you have varieties of ways that you can generate electricity. This seems like going backwards instead of forwards,” Iverson said.
The federal government would have to approve any nuclear project.
Doyle Turner is a member of the county board of adjustment. He’s in favor of the zoning changes that include informing residents in a 10-mile radius of any proposed permits.
“The county is being proactive to say, ‘hey, we want to have a say in this. We want to have an ability to regulate this. This is responsible government. This is what local government should do,” Turner said.
The chairman of the board of supervisors says a major business decided to pass on coming to the county because there wasn’t enough power.
The supervisors unanimously voted in favor of the proposal’s first reading. There are two more hearings scheduled for the next two Tuesdays.
*In other news, after uncertainty about receiving grants from the Department of Education for their TRIO programs, two local colleges had their federal funding renewed for the next five years.
Wayne State University received $1.9 million and Western Iowa Tech Community College received more than $3.1 million.
TRIO is a program that helps first generation college students who come from low-income families, and students with disabilities, to achieve their academic goals.
The WIT grants serve a combined 315 students at their Sioux City, Denison, and Cherokee campuses.
The TRIO program started in 1997 at WIT’s Sioux City campus and expanded services to Cherokee and Denison in 2010.
In a release, Alejandra Flores, Director of TRIO at Western Iowa Tech, said, TRIO is about building relationships and removing barriers.
"We’re grateful to continue this work and proud to walk alongside students as they grow, overcome challenges, and work toward goals that can change the trajectory of their lives," Flores said.
*In other news, the Winnebago Tribe is hosting their 159th Homecoming Celebration Pow wow starting Thursday and running through Sunday.
The homecoming pow wow is to commemorate the return of Chief Little Priest and the four Omaha A company scouts who had served as peacemakers for the United States government.
Garan Coons, Communications Officer of the Winnebago Tribe, told Siouxland Public Media, “I heard one veteran he mention that when he came home he wasn’t welcomed home. People didn’t look at him the same as he left but when he was at the pow wow he could feel the music healed his soul. The music, the dancing, the friendship, seeing the relatives, it brought him back to when he was growing up in Winnebago and for those four days he felt a sense of relief.”
All are welcomed and encouraged to come to the Winnebago’s Homecoming Celebration Pow wow.
*A special one year run for the Iowa boys high school baseball state tourney continues this week in Sioux City.
The games to determine champions in Classes 3A and 4A are being played at Lewis and Clark park, which holds more than 3,000 people.
The tourney is being held in Sioux City due to a scheduling conflict in Cedar Rapids.
So far, local teams from Sioux City East, Bishop Heelan in Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff-Luton have played in the tourney, which wraps up Friday afternoon with the two title games.
*The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed another case of measles in an adult residing in Western Iowa.
The individual is fully immunized, has not traveled outside the state, and has no connection to prior measles cases.
This brings Iowa’s total to eight confirmed cases of measles in 2025.
This year South Dakota has confirmed twelve cases and Nebraska has confirmed 1 case.
As of July 16th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,309 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., more than 300% increase over last year.
92% of those individuals are unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.
