Siouxlanders reacted to the important campaign news that likely Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday picked the governor of an adjacent state as her running mate.
Catelin Drey, a Democrat from Sioux City who will be a voting delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this month, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was a great selection.
“Walz is a steadfast advocate for common sense gun safety and making sure all kids have what they need at school to be successful. His no-nonsense attitude and Midwestern sensibility is the perfect counter to the GOP and their dangerous Project 2025 blueprint,” Drey told Siouxland Public Media News,
Within two hours of the news, former Woodbury County Democratic Party Chairwoman Patty Rosfjord had put a photo of Harris and Walz as her profile picture.
Walz is a native of Northeast Nebraska, who was born in West Point, 60 miles from Sioux City.
Republican nominee Donald Trump in releases lambasted the Walz pick, citing him as an out of touch liberal. Northwest Iowa Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra called the Democratic team “radical socialists.”
On her X/Twitter account, Harris said she selected Walz as her running mate because, “as a governor, a coach, a teacher, and a veteran, he's delivered for working families.” On Monday night, an Iowans for Harris online event had more than 750 people checking in to watch.
Woodbury County Democratic Party Communications Chairman Ryan Akerberg said party officials could not be more excited on Walz being on the 2024 team.
“It is nice to know your average American with a strong work ethic can still reach great heights,” Akerbeg said in a statement.
Minnesota has produced two vice presidents, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale.
Additionally, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening a Disaster Recovery Center in Woodbury County to provide one-on-one help to people impacted by recent flooding. Three others will also open in other Northwest Iowa locations this week.
Recovery specialists from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration will provide information on available services, explain assistance programs, and help survivors complete or check the status of their applications.
The Disaster Recovery Center will be located at the SIMPCO office building at 6401 Gordon Drive, in Sioux City. It will open on Wednesday, August 7, and be open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The other one that will open on Wednesday will be at Sioux Rapids in Buena Vista County.
On Thursday, two other FEMA centers will open at Spirit Lake in Dickinson County and Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County.
FEMA previously opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Spencer, which was severely flooded by the Little Sioux River. Also in Spencer, on Monday the city council approved adding new city employees to help process recovery steps.
The Spencer City Council members voted to disaster support positions in the Planning Department. The goal is to add those positions within two weeks.
Area rivers started flooding after substantial rains on June 21 and 22.
In other news, a Siouxland hospital will close in September.
The MercyOne hospital in Primghar, Iowa, will close. KUOO Radio originally reported Tuesday that officials with MercyOne said economic and workforce challenges necessitated closing the hospital in Primghar, which is one of the smaller towns in Iowa with a hospital.
MercyOne operates clinics in Sutherland, Paullina, and Primghar. Those three will be consolidated into one, with the Primghar clinic to be the one that stays open.
“We will focus our resources on clinic care to continue MercyOne’s Mission to provide high-quality patient care while adapting to the community’s needs,” MercyOne officials said in a release. “With today’s current economic and workforce challenges, healthcare organizations will continue to make changes to maintain access to care.”
Additionally, a group in Sioux City has about eight more weeks to clear out of its longstanding location in a former school.
The Sioux City Council on Monday approved giving Lamb Arts until September 30 to vacate its home in the 400 block of Market Street. In the spring, the council gave LAMB officials until July 17 to move out, after the site received a failing score on a building inspection.
But Lamb officials have said they have so many items to move and difficulty finding spots for that, according to a city memo. So the issue came back to the council, who agreed to give LAMB until the end of September to complete the move-out tasks.
Additionally, Lamb has problems with another site, so they have recently held shows at Morningside University.
Back in 2017 the city and Lamb began a cooperative development plan, with the city providing a $350,000 loan for Lamb officials to renovate the former KCAU-TV building at 625 Douglas Street.
Lamb officials sought to raise millions of dollars to renovate the property into a theater. Additionally, the property has a collapsed roof.
The council earlier this year terminated the Lamb agreement, and the city now has ownership of the property.
