Katy Brown, of Jefferson, lives with a family of runners. Her two sons, Jack and Cole, were both 2024 cross country state medalists for Dakota Valley. The two can be seen often jogging throughout the local area. Her husband, Shawn, has run marathons, and Brown herself stays active by running. In late October, she decided to put the good habit to even better use in order to help a flood victim from McCook Lake, SD.

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.

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.

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.

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Youth discipleship members from Elk Point-Jefferson and Dakota Valley met in Sioux City on Wednesday, October 30 to pack food totes for students in need. The middle schoolers, all parishioners from St. Joseph’s in Elk Point, St. Peter’s in Jefferson or St. Teresa’s in Dakota Dunes, were a great help to the nonprofit.

On October 29, 2024, at 8:30 a.m., the Union County Board of Commissioners convened for a regular session, with key members including Michael Dailey, Kevin Joffer, Peggy Ustad, and Tom Kimmel present. The session began with a motion proposed by Commissioner Dailey and seconded by Commissioner Kimmel to approve the meeting agenda. An amendment was introduced to remove the Cup of Joy LLC’s Liquor License hearing while adding a significant discussion regarding the District 3 position and future actions. This amendment was carried.

The month of October was Sudden Cardiac Awareness month. A time to reflect on the importance of automated external defibrillators (AED) in public areas and buildings, as well as knowing how to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) in an emergency. This is something that is near and dear to the hearts of those working and volunteering at the North Sioux City Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).