More than just an election was happening in Union County on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Local schools, Dakota Valley and Elk Point-Jefferson, both welcomed a guest speaker in retired professional football player Andre Fluellen. He spoke at DV in the morning and EPJ later that day.

The Panther varsity football season came to an end on Thursday, October 31, 2024. Dakota Valley had a strong season and advanced to postseason play as the #7 in Class 11A for South Dakota. A loss to Dell Rapids in the 1st round of playoffs ended DV’s bid to make it to the state finals on November 16, 2024.

After a sweep performance on the road to Waterloo, Sioux City Metros outplayed the newest team to the Midwest High School Hockey League, Boji Mammoths. Numerous teammates contributed to the barrage of points. Heelan’s Karson Fitch (Sr.), South Sioux City Ryan Hedquist (Sr.), and DV’s Jax Trosper (Jr.) led the way with hat tricks. Goaltender Cameron Patrick, Sergeant Bluff (Jr), added a shutout to his statistics. Varsity ends the game with a 15-0 win.

Dakota Valley jumped to a big lead in volleyball, versus Lennox, on Thursday, November 7, 2024 in their 1st set of the evening. The Panthers were playing on their home court for the Class A Region 4 semifinals. Back-to-back kills by outside hitter Sammy Kimbell had the Panthers ahead 13-3. The Orioles got on a bit of a rally, but Claire Munch shut it down off an assist, from her sister Madie, to make the score 18-10.

Voter turnout was a common theme reported on across the nation for Election Day, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. And in Union County, there was no exception. Per the South Dakota Secretary of State’s election result website, there were 436,478 cast out of the 624,186 registered voters in South Dakota. This amounted to an almost 70 percent voter turnout in the Mount Rushmore state. For Union County specifically, 8,895 ballots were received out of 12,617 potential voters with registrations.

Vehicles filled the parking lot and extended out to the street as volunteer parking attendant Tom Jacobs directed traffic for the annual Christmas at the Homestead. The event ran from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve. Rainy drizzle and cooler temperatures did not deter the crowd and it was a well attended event in McCook Lake.

On November 4, 2024, the Jefferson City Council convened for its regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Jefferson City Hall. The session was attended by council members Paddy Rigg, Tony Boulware, Jason Casper, John Lokhorst, and Michael Stokely, along with Tom Johnson, Sabrina LaFleur- Sayler, Michealeen Roark, and Dustin Sharkey.

The Elk Point City Council convened for its regular meeting on November 4, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the council chambers. Mayor Deb McCreary led the session, with council members Lance Penfield, Amanda Abraham, Renee Irwin, Kris Hurlbert, and Kenneth VonHaden present. City Attorney Craig K. Thompson, City Administrator Derek Tuttle, City Engineer Gary Nebelsick, Police Chief Jacob Limoges, Finance Officer Erika Hammitt, and Public Works Director Trevor Job also attended. Council member Ben Irlbeck was absent from the meeting.

The North Sioux City City Council convened for its regular meeting on November 4, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., presided over by Council President Gary Bogenrief. Attendees included council members Kodi Benson, Jim Christenson, Joan Christiansen, Bob Davis, Lonnie Green, Lynn Hoffman, and Greg Meyer, along with City Finance Officer Amy Lilly, Interim City Administrator Andrew Nilges, and City Attorney Sarah Kleber. Mayor Patti Teel was absent.

On Sunday, November 3rd, the Union County 4-H club gathered for its annual 4-H Recognition Event at the Elk Point United Parish, marking a successful completion of the 20232024 club year. This year’s event served as a platform to honor the dedication and achievements of 4-H members and leaders alike.