The residents of North Sioux City have spoken – the new business park is to be named “River Bend Business Park.” Six names were presented to the North Sioux City City Council Sept. 19 at their bi-weekly meeting. The other names were Runway, Union, Lewis & Clark, Forward, Stevens and River Bend.

Labor Day and the unofficial end to summer is always a highlighted time for many, but this past Sept. 5 was uniquely special for the Kistner family, of McCook Lake, as they were able to water ski three generations at one time on the lake.

Storytime has started once again at the North Sioux City Community Library and the children were treated with a visit from children’s book author Rebecca Staab. Staab, a mother of three, noticed a lack of farm related children’s books when her family moved out to the farm.

The North Sioux City Fire Department is hosting an Open House Sunday, Oct. 2 from 2 to 4 p.m.

An appraisal for the Union County Fairgrounds has been in the works since the June 14 meeting. A commercial appraiser from Sioux Falls was hired not to exceed $8,000 and half was to be repaid by the City of Alcester. However, after hearing nothing from the appraiser and seeing no progress, the Union County Commissioners approved a different appraisal company to handle the work at their meeting Sept. 6. Elwood & Martin Appraisals, LLC was approved to do the appraisal for the fairgrounds on the recommendation of State’s Attorney Jerry Miller. Kelley Jorgensen, of Blue Tin Ranch, and lawyer Mitch Peterson were in attendance to ask the commissioners about their motion from the Aug. 23 meeting to “have the State’s Attorney’s office move forward with an injunction against Blue Tin Ranch for any ordinance violations occurring now or into the future.” A prior gathering was held at Blue Tin Ranch to hear the commissioner’s concerns about the property and it being considered an agritourism spot for various events.

The Panther Pantry is a school-based pantry that provides Dakota Valley students and their families with food, personal care items,and new/used school supplies. All donations are appreciated; however, they are currently low on the following items:

Fall is inching closer and with the changing of the season, it brings colder temperatures. Changing seasons and colder temperatures inherently mean it’s cold and flu season. We have had relatively mild flu seasons the last couple years. Scientists have several reasons to attribute this to mask wearing, social distancing and heightened awareness for hygiene practices. However, it does appear that our mild flu seasons may be ending. The 2022-23 flu season is predicted to be severe. It’s important to know these predictions are based on the flu season that has just ended in the Southern Hemisphere. Australia just had the worst flu season in the last five years. These are predictions, but they are a warning of potential problems we may face this coming flu season.

As the pandemic’s unseen costs begin to unfold on the mental health front, some wonder how school children will be impacted. Despite the massive challenge everyone faces, there are growing resources to help families who are struggling.

The Dakota Valley School Board held two meetings last week – their regular meeting on Sept. 12 and a special meeting Sept.

Everywhere one looks in North Sioux City, there’s construction, a sure sign of a growing community. Currently on the south western edge of the city, Stockwell Engineering is monitoring the construction of the Sioux Point Road realignment project.