*The Sioux City Council members in their Monday meeting continued steps dismantling long standing programs in order to comply with a federal mandate and to continue getting federal funding.
Those actions were taken because the Trump administration has said that programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion must be halted.
The latest reversal included a resolution from more than 50 years ago that put in place an affirmative action program for the city of Sioux City. That program sought to focus on adding employees from qualified minority groups and female applicants.
Secondly, the council members voted to end the Minority Business Enterprise Program, which directed block grant funding to selected businesses.
Last week, the council disbanded a 12-member Inclusive Sioux City Advisory Committee formed in 2020 and reclassified the city’s diversity and inclusion coordinator position.
The Trump administration said states and other grant recipients could lose funding if they fail to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement or if they don’t halt DEI programs. Last week, some council members said they did not want to do that, but that their hands were tied.
*A bill that would restrict use of eminent domain powers to acquire land for renewable energy pipelines is on the desk of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds to consider signing into law.
After years when Republican leaders prevented a vote on the eminent domain abolition topic on the Senate floor, a wide discussion on its merits took place Monday. The state senators then narrowly approved it, and since the Iowa House also previously did that, the matter now can be settled by Reynolds.
The bill that would make it harder for carbon capture and other pipelines to use eminent domain.
Republican supporters of the bill say it’ll help protect Iowans’ private property rights. Other senators say it would slow Iowa’s economic growth and open the state up to lawsuits.
Thirteen Republicans and 14 Democrats joined together to pass the bill.
*Sioux City School District officials continue working towards getting a new fleet of electric school buses to carry students in the upcoming school year.
Late last year, the Sioux City School Board members accepted a bid for 15 International brand EV buses for $5.9 million from Hoglund Bus Company, of Minnesota. They also accepted the bid of $340,600 for 15 electric bus charging stations.
In the most recent school board meeting on Monday, the members carried out financial steps to amend the current budget for the revenues and expenses to get the EV buses. The revenues come from a $5.9 million grant from the federal Clean School Bus Rebate Program.
Adding the buses had not been anticipated when the budget was set back in April 2024.
Superintendent Rod Earleywine on Tuesday said the buses will arrive in July. They have a range of about 130 miles once charged, and most buses travel 50 miles per day on their routes.
*The outcome of a school bond issue vote will determine if $127 million will be spent to improve facilities in the South Sioux City School District.
Early voting has been underway for several days. Completed ballots must be returned to the Dakota County Courthouse by 5:00 p.m.Tuesday to be counted.
The measure needs a simple majority vote to pass.
School officials and community members pitched the plan to add modern facilities in the district with growing enrollment and some aging buildings. The enrollment is projected to grow from the current 3,800 to about 4,300 within the next 10 years.
*As of May 7, new national rules require that in order to board an airplane, people now have to show a picture ID that's compliant with the REAL ID Act.
That is a federal law passed 20 years ago, and it means you'll have to show a federal ID, such as a passport or one of the REAL IDs issued by the state. In order to ensure that people understand, Northwest Iowa Congressman Randy Feenstra has set two meetings this week for people to learn more.
A passport fair in Sioux City will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday in Sioux City in the downtown Sioux City Public Library. People must register beforehand by emailing Fenstra’s office or by calling at 202-225-4426.
People will also need to bring a completed passport application, government-issued ID, proof of citizenship, and a State Department approved printed passport photo. Another event will be held in Council Bluffs.
