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Union County’s relocation of several courthouse offices to the Turner Building began this week as commissioners advanced a re‑zoning request, closed out a high‑way project and approved personnel changes during their Aug. 4 meet‑ing at Elk Point City Hall.

The Elk Point City Council discussed re‑peated garbage service complaints, reviewed on‑going project work and outlined steps in the city’s lead‑pipe inventory dur‑ing its Aug. 4 regular meeting. The council also scheduled a special ses‑sion later this month to begin work on the 2027 budget.

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.

Elk Point-Jefferson Schools will honor nine outstanding individuals and a historic championship team this fall during the dis‑trict’s inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 5, at The Pointe in Elk Point.