Siouxland Public Media News

  Gov. Kim Reynolds is taking her annual Condition of the State address from day time to supper time.  She will break with tradition, by addressing a joint convention of the 89th Iowa General Assembly at the Iowa Capitol beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, rather than the typical 10 a.m. Siouxland Public Media will broadcast the speech live and a live stream of the speech will be available at kwit.org. Also, you can hear live reactions to the speech live on Siouxland Public Media as soon as Governor Reynolds is finished her address.  

011121a 3:04 News

 State lawmakers returned to the Iowa Capitol today. Education, taxation, safety are the top priorities for 2021 Iowa legislature. And today they were Joined  inside by hundreds of anti-mask protestors.

Hundreds of people --- few, if any, of them wearing face coverings --- packed into the Iowa Capitol rotunda today and then into the Senate and House chamber galleries. The were protesting mask-wearing and other public health measures designed to slow the spread of the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic.

State lawmakers returned to the Iowa Capitol today. Education, taxation, safety are the top priorities for 2021 Iowa legislature. And they were joined inside by more than 200 anti-mask protestors.

The Sioux City Community School District's weekly coronavirus report shows only one staff member and no students testing positive the first week after winter break.

Two-hundred are out on quarantine. That's down from about 500 at the end of December. 

Class resumed on Monday and students have at least one more week of hybrid learning. 

That’s where they go to school two-days a week.  An update surrounding the learning plan is expected to come Monday night with the next school board meeting.

The community of Moville, Iowa and the Woodbury Central School District is grieving the loss of a beloved middle school social studies teacher and volleyball coach. 

Siouxland Public Media reached out to Woodbury Central School Board Member Donny Reblitz who shares more information about the life of 53-year-old Cherie Dandurand.

Reblitz is a contributor to the Siouxland Public Media Special Project “Going Viral: Lesson’s Learned During the Pandemic.

A northwest Iowa teacher has died of complications of COVID-19.

The superintendent of the Woodbury Central School District in Moville confirmed the death of 53-year-old Cherie Dandurand who first started in the district in 1991.

School was called off early yesterday after hearing the news of Dandurand’s death.

She taught middle school social studies.

There’s a new development in Sioux City’s first murder investigation of 2021.  Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer with the latest and more details on the young lady police call an “innocent victim.”

A Sioux City teenager is behind bars and charged in connection with a deadly shooting during a New Year’s celebration.

Eighteen-year-old Mia Kritis of Sioux City was killed while attending a party near Walker and Morningside Avenue. That’s near the Whispering Creek neighborhood. Three other teens were hurt.

A grim update from the Dakota County Health Department today as officials recorded seven additional deaths due to complications of COVID-19 for a total of 65 since the start of the pandemic.  There were two new cases.

Siouxland District Health reports 42 new cases of COVID-19 in a 24-hour period in Woodbury County.  There have been 171 deaths and more than 12,400 cases with almost 90% recovered. 

The 14-day test positivity rate for Woodbury County is up again by almost a third of a percentage point to 15.8%. 

The Iowa Department of Public Health reports three more COVID-19 related deaths in Woodbury County on Monday for 171 since the start of the pandemic. 

In one week, Iowa added 247 deaths and more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases.  In Woodbury County, there were 17 additional cases and a 14-day test positivity rate of 15.5%.  That is up two-percent points from a week ago.

123020 404 NewsThe number of deaths in Northwest Iowa attributed to COVID-19 rose by 13 yesterday,  public health officials announced. The 13 new deaths came in seven area counties. There were no additional deaths reported in Northeast Nebraska or Southeast South Dakota as of yesterday afternoon.In Woodbury County, there have been 55 new cases added to the total case count in the last 24 hours.  There have been more than 12,000 cases of the novel coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. There no new deaths in Woodbury County, so the number of fatalities there remains at 164. There was no information on the genders or ages of the Siouxland people who died yesterday. Ida County had the most significant increase in deaths from COVID1-19. There were four new deaths in Ida County, bringing the total number of fatalities to 26. The number rose by three to 53 in O'Brien County, and by two to 43 in Sioux County.Elsewhere, the number of deaths increased by one in Lyon County to 25, by one to 12 in Clay County, and by one to 22 in Crawford County.Those deaths were reported in statistics from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The end of the year, also means the end of almost 4 decades in law enforcement for Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew.  The 60-year-old retires at the end of the year after eight-years leading the Sheriff’s Office.  

He reflects on his long career and the evolution of law enforcement with Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer before incoming Sheriff Chad Sheehan takes office.

Winter storm warnings and advisories are posted for all of Siouxland. Moderate to heavy snow could continue into tonight according to the National Weather Service.  Accumulations of 3 to 7 inches of snow expected, with higher amounts possible along with some drifting snow.

The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

By Tuesday morning, snow was so heavy in western Nebraska that Interstates 80 and 76 were closed in both directions after several accidents.

The National Weather Service says an “impactful” winter storm is moving into the region Tuesday and Tuesday night.

Moderate to heavy snow is expected with 3 to 7 inches for Siouxland.

Because of the incoming winter storm, there have been snow emergencies issued for several Siouxland communities, including Sioux City, South Sioux, Dakota City, North Sioux, Hinton and Norfolk, Nebraska.

Heavy, wet snow will blanket much of the state tomorrow so forecasters recommend putting off travel plans until the winter storm has passed.

Another 71 people died in Iowa of the coronavirus, including 3 more in Woodbury County.  Siouxland District Health is no longer releasing information on the age or sex of COVID-19 related deaths.  There were 39 new cases in the county and more than 1,400 statewide in a 24-hour period. 

The total number of deaths in Iowa is 3,739.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that in the past 14 days, Iowa has reported almost 700 new confirmed cases per 100,000 people. That ranks the state 40th nationally during that period.

Sioux City Police are on the lookout for a Sioux City man accused of a shooting at a gentleman’s club over the weekend. 

A woman was serious hurt during the shooting that took place after a fight outside Mavericks in the old stockyard area early on Saturday.  The victim was in the parking lot at the time watching the confrontation that didn’t involve the suspect.  Witnesses say 26-year-old Rudy C. Johnson started shooting toward the fight.

We are getting a “White Christmas” courtesy of a winter storm.

Blizzard warnings are posted for all of Siouxland due to snow, strong winds and bitter cold until 9 tonight. 

The weather is creating treacherous travel conditions.

The National Weather Service says Sioux City is expected to receive three inches of snow. But, some spots in the region could see 5-to-7 inches.

Because of worsening weather conditions, Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott issued a snow emergency.

The Sioux City Community School District released a weekly report on COVID-19 cases and for the first time also listed students and staff in quarantine.

This past week, the report showed four students and six staff members tested positive for the virus.

One multi-grade classroom at North Middle was put into Emergency Response Virtual Learning.

Sioux City’s two hospitals received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine today. 

This is audio from a live stream from Siouxland News KMEG 14-FOX 44 television on Facebook this afternoon of two veteran front-line health care workers getting their shots at MercyOne. 

Nurse, Mary Jones and the Medical Director for Emergency Medicine Siouxland Dr. Joe Liewer were the first two to get their shots.  Both have worked for more than 25 years at the hospital. 

Beth Hughes is President at MercyOne.

It’s unclear why Iowa will receive fewer doses of coronavirus vaccine than initially promised by the federal government.

But the state is moving ahead with plans to relax restrictions beginning Thursday even while reporting nearly 100 additional deaths.

The Iowa Department of Public Health released a statement Wednesday evening saying the state’s allocation would be reduced by up to 30%.

The statement noted distributions were also being lowered to other states. The agency didn’t explain why the allocation would be smaller.

The family of a 65-year-old Iowa man  is suing Tyson after he died of COVID-19 while working at the company's pork plant in Storm Lake. Michael Everhard, of Fonda, died June 18, three weeks after he contracted the virus. His family contends in a lawsuit that Tyson didn't implement proper safety precautions to protect Everhard and other employees from the virus. Several Tyson executives at the plant are also named in the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Everhard's three children.

The Sioux City Community School Board took action to try and slow the spread of COVID-19 and keep students and staff safe.  Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer with a wrap-up of last night’s meeting.

The Sioux City Community School Board unanimously voted Monday night to return to hybrid learning after Winter Break on January 4, 2020. 

The district started the first two-weeks with students either attending class on Monday-Thursday or Tuesday-Friday.

West High School Counselor Bernie Scolaro talked to SPM's Sheila Brummer about her personal battle with COVID-19 and thoughts on school safety.

Scolaro has worked at West High School for more than 20 years and also spent time at Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools and at Catholic Charities as a counselor.  She is the current Vice President of the Siouxland Uniserv Unit for teachers and is the Past President of the Sioux City Education Association.

Vaccine distribution plans will be discussed Monday afternoon by Siouxland public health officials.  Siouxland District Health Department and Dakota County Health Department will hold a press conference Monday afternoon at the Security Institute at Western Iowa Tech, to provide information related to COVID19 vaccine plans.  That press conference is set for 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Two members of the Sioux City Community School Board say the district needs to be more transparent when it comes to releasing information about COVID-19 so they can make informed decisions during the pandemic.  A weekly report is expected tomorrow.

One of the two members, Dan Greenwell, talked to SPM’s Sheila Brummer about concerns he shares with board member Taylor Goodvin.

Full statement from the Sioux City Community School District:

The debate continues on K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iowa’s Governor wants to keep students in class.  A recent survey teachers in the Sioux City Community School district showed only 10% wanted to continue with in-person learning.  Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer explores the issue with a couple of long-time educator, union leader and school administrator.