St. Gabriel Communications, Ltd., better known as Siouxland Catholic Radio 88.1 FM, went on the air at 10 a.m., Feb.

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The North Sioux City City Council met for their first meeting of the year, Jan. 3. During this meeting, the council designated the Dakota Dunes/North Sioux City Times as the official newspaper of North Sioux City. They also moved some future meeting dates due to Sunday or Monday holidays – Jan. 16 to Jan. 17, Feb. 20 to Feb. 21, June 19 to June 20 and Sept. 4 to Sept. 5.

To kick off the second semester, Dakota Valley high school and middle school students assembled in the basketball gyms for welcome back pep rallies this past week. High school students attended their pep rally on Monday, Jan. 9 and middle schoolers went to theirs on Friday, Jan. 6. Both pep rallies were put on by student council members who coordinated a variety of games for students and staff.

The first Union County Board of County Commissioners meeting of 2023 was rescheduled from Tuesday, Jan. 3 to Thursday, Jan. 5 due to poor weather conditions. During the rescheduled meeting, the commissioners determined various appointments to the county, including chairman and vice-chairman.

Winter break means many children are out of school and apt to spend their days indoors as cold weather makes playing outside unlikely. However, for many youngsters in the area there were numerous camps happening to keep all involved busy and engaged.

Dustin Sharkey, a seasoned law enforcement officer, was named the Jefferson Police Chief Dec. 19.

Larry Ness, CEO and Board Chairman of First Dakota National Bank, retired as CEO on Dec. 30, 2022. Ness came to First Dakota in August 1983. At the time, First Dakota was a struggling bank that was expected to fail. Under his leadership, the bank rebounded and has enjoyed nearly four decades of growth and success. In 1983, First Dakota had one location and $42 million in assets. Today, they have 17 locations in 12 South Dakota cities with $2.7 billion in assets.

The first Friends Feast of 2023 will be held Jan. 9 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

South Dakotans depend on their local community newspaper to keep them informed and connected. Who are the people who read South Dakota newspapers? Every month, 574,000 consumers – or 83 percent of South Dakota adults – read the local newspaper in print or online.