3 Iowa men arrested by Lincoln Co. sheriff’s deputies for S.D. church burglaries

According to a news release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s, three Sioux County men were arrested Thursday, Dec. 28 for attempted burglary of a church in rural Lincoln County.

Over the last month, Lincoln County deputies have been investigating several burglaries of rural churches in the county. They have been working with neighboring agencies in both South Dakota and Iowa in counties experiencing similar church burglaries. Continue reading 3 Iowa men arrested by Lincoln Co. sheriff’s deputies for S.D. church burglaries

WITCC wants to depose alleged human trafficking victims in Iowa

Western Iowa Tech Community College, a community college in Sioux City, Iowa that’s facing two multimillion-dollar lawsuits alleging it engaged in human trafficking is arguing the alleged victims must return to Iowa from Chile to sit for depositions in the case.

The former students say they can’t afford the expense of returning to Iowa and have sought the court’s permission to provide deposition testimony remotely through Zoom-type videoconferencing. Continue reading WITCC wants to depose alleged human trafficking victims in Iowa

Sheriff: Alleged rape of nursing home resident under investigation

The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office says it is still investigating the alleged rape of an Iowa nursing home resident who was subsequently evicted and dumped at a homeless shelter.

It’s not clear whether the criminal investigation is focused entirely on the reported rape or includes how the resident was treated by the care facility in the days that followed the alleged incident. Continue reading Sheriff: Alleged rape of nursing home resident under investigation

So, a few years ago this week . . .

Welcome to a new feature of The Siouxland Observer. It’s sort of like your hometown newspaper’s “Peeking in the Past” column — only different.

Here we present for your inspection, actual news items that appeared during the week of Dec. 10 – 16 1900 from area newspapers clipped from Newspapers.com. We thought you’d enjoy them. Of course, since they’ve been clipped just as they were printed, none have been edited to spare you the mirth or fear of what it was like back then. These may or may not be in any particular order. Higgledy-Piggledy, if you will. Sort of like the editor’s brain. Continue reading So, a few years ago this week . . .

Parish office administrator indicted on grand theft charges

The former parish office administrator of both the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Elk Point and St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Jefferson, S.D. has been indicted for inappropriate receipt of parish funds. That was the news announced to parish members in a letter dated Nov. 17 from the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.

The letter referred to former parish employee Jean Limoges of rural Elk Point. It stated that “last summer, diocesan financial officials noticed significant irregularities in St. Peter’s financial records. This prompted a more extensive review which revealed excess payroll deposits regularly made over a significant period of time.” Continue reading Parish office administrator indicted on grand theft charges

Juvenile justice report: More delinquent kids taken to court

South Dakota prosecutors filed more juvenile delinquency petitions in fiscal year 2023 than at any time in nearly a decade, according to an annual report presented Wednesday to a state committee.

The report came during the fall meeting of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council, which is a group of representatives from law enforcement, schools, the Legislature, social services and the court system. The council is responsible for tracking South Dakota’s eight-year effort to reduce the number of children in custody. Continue reading Juvenile justice report: More delinquent kids taken to court

Dunes residents asked to report vandalism when they see it happen

The Event Center in the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sioux City North was nearly filled to capacity Monday night with Dakota Dunes residents. They were there to hear about increasing issues of vandalism and related juvenile misbehavior in The Dunes from law enforcement and security officials. Continue reading Dunes residents asked to report vandalism when they see it happen