A South Dakota ethics board has found enough information that Gov. Kristi Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license to potentially take action against the Republican governor. The Government Accountability Board determined that “appropriate action” could be taken against Noem, though it didn’t specify the action. Its procedures call for a contested case hearing that would give Noem, who has denied wrongdoing, a chance to publicly defend herself against the allegations. The board also referred a complaint that Noem flew on state-owned airplanes to political events to the state attorney general’s office for further investigation.
The Sioux City Council will be asked Monday to award a $1.2 million contract to a company from Reinbeck, Iowa, for the construction of the Southbridge Business Park Cold-Link Rail Spur Project. For more on the story from the Sioux City Journal, click here.
The seven people who want to fill an opening on the Sioux City Community School board will have a chance to speak to the board tonight. Juline Albert, a Western Iowa Tech Community College Vice President, resigned on August 5th, citing personal reasons. The board has 30 days to appoint a replacement. According to information posted on the school district’s website, the deadline for someone to petition for a special election is tomorrow.
Hoping to fill the vacant seat are the following people:
Eric Boe - Retired Engineer
Chad Kranstel - Businessman
Flora Lee - Former Board President
Brian Miller - Former 185th Commander
Joshua Potter – Pastor
Maria Rundquist - Community Activist
Bernie Scolaro - Former Educator and School Counselor
A back-to-school event is planned for tonight for students in the Sioux City Community School District.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is on a trade mission to Ireland and the United Kingdom this week. Each year the state exports about $10 billion of goods and services.\
The mission comes when the Huskers are scheduled to play the Northwestern Wildcats in Ireland on Saturday. WOWT in Omaha reports the team is expected to leave tonight and will practice Wednesday and Thursday. Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m., and the game will air on Fox.
Nebraska will play a Week Zero game for the second straight season, and coach Scott Frost can’t afford a repeat of what happened a year ago. The Cornhuskers’ loss at Illinois set the tone for a 3-9 season that ended with Frost clinging to his job after taking a $1 million pay cut and firing four offensive assistants. Frost’s fifth season begins Saturday against Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland. Frost said he wants his team to play looser than it did in the 30-22 loss to Illinois. Frost says the Huskers are going to take a let-it-rip attitude to the Emerald Isle.
A former Siouxland sports standout was named the starting quarterback for the Iowa State Cyclones. West Sioux’s Hunter Dekkers will take over for Brock Purdy, who is on the roster with the San Francisco 49ers. Dekkers was selected as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Potential White House hopefuls from both parties often swing by Iowa’s legendary state fair during a midterm election year. It's a way for them to connect with voters who could sway the nomination process. But this year, the political traffic at the Fair has been noticeably light. Democrats remain uncertain about President Joe Biden’s political future, and many Republicans are avoiding taking on former President Donald Trump. Several would-be 2024 candidates have quietly made political inroads in Iowa by campaigning with state Republicans. But not everyone has shied away from the fairgrounds. Former Vice President Mike Pence visited on Friday, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan came last week.
The Republican candidate for Iowa auditor says he wants to be a watchdog and the voice of the Iowa taxpayer. Todd Halbur made his comments over the weekend at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. He said he had three priorities if elected:
“So the first one is: save the taxpayer money by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse; the second one is accountability to all Iowans and to all taxpayers; the third is make some money for the Iowa taxpayer by streamlining and making government efficient.”
For example, Halbur says Iowa’s Alcoholic Beverages Division should no longer have direct control over wholesale liquor in the state. Halbur has a whistleblower lawsuit pending against the division following a 2018 dismissal. He is challenging Democratic incumbent Rob Sand, who spoke at the soapbox on Wednesday.
The Iowa State Fair wrapped up Sunday after an 11-day run topping the one-million mark again.
State Fair CEO Gary Slater tells Radio Iowa says everything went smoothly this year. Friday fairgoers did experience three inches of rain that fell in a short time. The Fair set an all-time record for the highest attendance on Saturday, with almost 129,000 visitors.
The Fair broke a Guinness World Record for the largest cornhole tournament that was held on Saturday.
KCCI Television in Des Moines reports that 730 people participated, breaking a previous record of 444 set in San Diego, California, in 2019.
The 2023 Iowa State Fair will run from August 10th through the 20th.
