Occasionally in life, we encounter extraor‑dinary individuals who inspire us through their selfless service as public servants—people who act with relentless courage, sometimes even when their lives are on the line. Lisa Schenzel is among the ranks epitomizing that rare commitment whether serving in the military, law enforcement or assisting military vet‑erans in receiving their well-deserved compen‑sation from the country they served.

Dakota Valley celebrated Senior Week from January 26–30. During the week, they opened their esports lab to senior parents and hosted senior trivia, interviews, and featured streams highlighting all of the senior esports athletes. Matches were also played across all gaming titles as the regular season of esports comes to a close. Much success was observed by the Panthers as many looked to make the 2026 state competition.

Away games were on the schedule for the Panther boys basketball team as they shut the door on the month of January. Dakota Valley traveled to Sioux Falls Christian (SFC) on Thursday, January 29, 2026 to face a strong Charger squad.

One of the largest home crowds ever for Dakota Valley wrestling was at the Panther’s triangular on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Many attended to watch DV earn a team dual win over Vermillion and put up a strong effort versus an excellent West Central (WC) Trojans roster. It was also senior night as the team, and fans, celebrated 12th graders Bennett Lukken and Cooper Bernard who have been wrestling for DV for many seasons.

Facing a top ranked Sioux Falls Christian (SFC) girls basketball team proved a hard test for the Panthers on Thursday, January 29, 2026. Dakota Valley went on the road to play the SFC Chargers who are top ranked in Class A for South Dakota.

The inaugural event, organized by the Dakota Valley Parent‑Teacher Or‑ganization and presented by Peoples Bank, brought together K–8 students who spent weeks creat‑ing products, planning displays and learning the basics of running a small business. More than 75 students filled 50 booths, offering handmade items and creative goods to families and community members.

The North Sioux City Commission on Tuesday approved the vacation of a small tract of land tied to a planned Kwik Trip development and moved forward on two land‑ac‑quisition matters during a special meeting that also featured a lengthy discussion about access to a privately owned parcel.

A home dual and big tournament kept the Elk Point-Jefferson wrestling team busy to end January. As hosts on Thursday, January 29, 2026 the Huskies faced Tri-Valley (TV), West Monona-Whiting (WEMO) and Dell Rapids (DR) in a quadrangular. They bested Dell Rapids by a team score of 42-27. However, EPJ fell 36-48 in a close one with WEMO and by a margin of 18-62 to TV.

A close battle on the road to Parkston did not go Elk Point-Jefferson’s way, as the varsity boys took a loss 48-55 on January 27, 2026. It was a tight game with the Huskies always in the mix. However, they were unable to overtake the lead from a strong Trojan squad.

Traveling to Parkston on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 was the Elk Point-Jefferson girls basketball team. They would face a strong Trojan team who had only 1 loss on the season thus far. It was a rough 1st quarter of offense for the Huskies as they found themselves down 9-23 headed into the 2nd period.