Tag: North Sioux City Council

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North Sioux Council hypocrites’ high drama is looking ridiculous

Gary Dickson

The article critiques three North Sioux City Councilors, Bob Davis, Lynn Hoffman, and Greg Meyer, for their dysfunction and inability to support a code of ethics. Their objections to the appointment of Andrew Devries highlight their hypocrisy regarding conflicts of interest. The article ends positively, noting the hiring of qualified city administrator Jeff Dooley. Continue reading North Sioux Council hypocrites’ high drama is looking ridiculous

Politics, To Whom It May ConcernLeave a comment

To Whom It May Concern – Election Day, 2024

Gary Dickson

The article discusses Watertown, South Dakota, and its connection to the Big Sioux River, emphasizing its historical significance and current political landscape. It critiques Governor Kristi Noem’s response to recent floods and handles local election dynamics, advocating for Democratic candidate Ray Ring while highlighting tensions within the city council regarding government structure changes. Continue reading To Whom It May Concern – Election Day, 2024

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McCook Lake victims still ‘in the dark,’ waiting for FEMA help nearly seven weeks after flood

Gary Dickson

Victims of the June 23 flood in McCook Lake feel abandoned by government officials, with uncertainty about federal aid. The flood destroyed 40 homes and caused infrastructure damage. South Dakota’s disaster declaration process delayed FEMA assistance. State officials defended the assessment process and contractors, while some officials expressed confidence in aid approval. Continue reading McCook Lake victims still ‘in the dark,’ waiting for FEMA help nearly seven weeks after flood

Crime19 Comments

Matt Vanderpool ran for North Sioux City alderman. Thursday he was arrested for rape and sexual contact with a child.

Gary Dickson

Last Thursday turned out to be the day from hell for Matt Vanderpool. It’s hard to know whether or not Matt Vanderpool had a smile on his face in a minute or two before 6:30 a.m. Or what his thoughts were. Vanderpool was driving his truck and was near the corner of Alcoma and Streeter Drives. It is probably a good guess, though, the look on his face changed to a look of bewilderment or a frown when he noticed two police cruisers were following him with their lights and sirens on. The police officers had in their possession paperwork that charged Vanderpool with five different counts: rape, solicitation of a minor, abuse and neglect of a child, sexual contact with a child under the age of 16, and sexual exploitation. Continue reading Matt Vanderpool ran for North Sioux City alderman. Thursday he was arrested for rape and sexual contact with a child.

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To whom it may concern

Gary Dickson

I’m back with another installment of To Whom It May Concern, my multi-topic opinion column about the goings-on in Siouxland, South Dakota, the nation and the world. I’d been meaning to write this earlier – like last month – but things kept getting in the way. Like my health. I had a cold which turned into a bad sinus infection that kept me in bed for most of a week with a fever. Now that I’m almost 71, stuff like that seems to hit me particularly hard. It sucks getting old. But don’t cry for me Argentina, I’ve rebounded, for the most part. Continue reading To whom it may concern

Government, North Sioux City, South DakotaLeave a comment

Results from Tuesday’s election

Gary Dickson

North Sioux City experienced what election officials called a higher-than-normal turnout for the four races for city council seats as 614 people cast their votes.

The higher voter turnout may have been at least partially due to the interest generated by the Union Square housing development as well as the proposed North Shore Drive bypass project. Another issue generating interest recently has been a proposed housing project by Mike Chicoine who lives outside the city, where he wants to build a canal for his housing development using water pumped from McCook Lake. Continue reading Results from Tuesday’s election

Government, North Sioux CityLeave a comment

The Saga of the North Sioux City Council – 1.0

Gary Dickson

It was a chilly no, make that cold evening on Tuesday, March 18 and I was pulling into the driveway to North Sioux City’s City Hall. I directed my car down the drive and surveyed the parking lot. Not too bad, I thought, in terms of parked car congestion.

t was time to get the show rolling. I took a seat in the second row on the far left side. I was about six chairs to the left of Bob Davis, where he could issue a well-formed scowl in my direction. The meeting was called to order by her honor, da mayor. The roll was called. We all stood, and the loyalty oath was pledged.

Continue reading The Saga of the North Sioux City Council – 1.0

Commentary, Siouxland6 Comments

To whom it may concern

Gary Dickson

I’ve been wanting to write a multi-topic opinion column for some time. It’s not that I haven’t let my personal views seep into my reporting about various activities earlier. For example, you might want to look up one of my stories about the Union County Commission to see what I think about their workings. I admit that my writing isn’t always objective. So what? I own this site and I don’t get paid to write, photograph or post the stories that appear on it. So there.

You might consider this column in a similar light to Frank Costanza’s “Airing of the Grievances” on the classic Festivus episode during the Jerry Seinfeld Show. During that episode, many might remember, Frank — who was George Costanza’s father — stands up and shouts, “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people! Now you’re going to hear about them.” I loved Frank.

Continue reading To whom it may concern