A well-known face recently embraced a new leadership role within the Dakota Valley (DV) school system. With ease and excitement, Jeff Hamm became DV’s high school principal for the 2026/27 school year. As is to be expected, he is settling in well thanks to his familiarity with the school and local community. In February, the DV school board voted to offer the position to Hamm who already had an established history within the district. His first official day as the Panther’s high school principal was on July 1, 2026.

Union County residents now have a direct line to official county information and alerts following the launch of TextMyGov, a mobile text messaging service implemented Aug. 1 by county officials.

South Dakota earned the No. 2 overall spot in the latest U.S.

Union County officials tackled a packed agenda during their July 21 meeting at Elk Point City Hall, balancing a major road construction surprise with widespread bridge-funding initiatives, commercial expansion plans and administrative reshuffling.

Reconstruction on Northshore Drive reached a major milestone this week as crews poured permanent concrete, bringing the vital flood-recovery project to roughly 50% completion. Ross Kuchta of Stockwell Engineers delivered the monthly engineer’s update during the July 20 City Commission meeting, reporting that significant progress continues along the lakefront corridor.

North Sioux City is moving forward with a major refresh of its development rules, though city leaders are taking a slower approach when it comes to new restrictions on businesses. At its July 22 meeting, the Planning Commission recom‑mended approval of six updat‑ed zoning chapters designed to simplify city oversight — nota‑bly allowing developers to skip full site‑plan submittals if a project does not require new building construction.

Motorists navigating the central highway cor‑ridors of Union County are now passing automatic license‑plate readers follow‑ing the county’s deployment of vehicle‑tracking technolo‑gy. The Union County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of four sta‑tionary Flock Safety ALPR cameras on Sept. 30, 2025, and the units were installed along major travel routes in mid‑2026.

Local growers, makers, and neighbors are gearing up for a full afternoon on the patio as Jefferson’s fifth annual Farmers Market returns next month. The community market is set for Sunday, Aug.

Union County officials tackled a packed agenda during their July 21 meeting at Elk Point City Hall, balancing a major road construction surprise with widespread bridge‑funding initiatives, commercial expansion plans and administrative reshuffling.

Gov. Larry Rhoden has won the Republican primary runoff for governor, overcoming Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden in Tuesday’s historic election to secure the GOP nomination for South Dakota’s highest office.