Tag: Siouxland

Content and images regarding people, places, things, history and ideas of a geographic area named by writer Frederick Manfred who grew up in this region. Siouxland covers the drainage basin of the Big Sioux River and includes parts of the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Health, Iowa, SiouxlandLeave a comment

Board: Acupuncture patient was abandoned, called sheriff’s office for help

Gary Dickson

An Iowa man had to call the sheriff’s office for assistance after his acupuncturist inserted needles into his body, then went home and fell asleep, according to the State Board of Medicine.

Board records and a report from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office indicate that on June 12, 2023, a male patient went to the Rock Rapids office of XiaoDong “Dave” Wang, a state-licensed acupuncturist. According to the board, Wang inserted acupuncture needles into the man’s body, left the Wang Acupuncture Clinic, went home and fell asleep. Continue reading Board: Acupuncture patient was abandoned, called sheriff’s office for help

Environment, Government, South DakotaLeave a comment

State DANR announces more than $172 million for environmental projects

Gary Dickson

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) announced the Board of Water and Natural Resources has approved $172,554,815 in grants and loans for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste projects in South Dakota.

The $172,554,815 total consists of $20,007,550 in grants and $152,547,265 in low-interest loans, including $10,986,600 in principal forgiveness to be administered by the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Included in the funding were 11 projects in the Siouxland communities of Alcester, Hudson, Parker, Sioux Falls, Vermillion, Viborg and Worthing, plus the Lincoln County Rural Water System and the South Eastern Council of Governments out of Sioux Falls. Continue reading State DANR announces more than $172 million for environmental projects

Commentary, EnvironmentLeave a comment

Warmer weather at Okoboji: What it means for the lakes and those who use them

Gary Dickson

The ice on Spirit Lake went out this year on March 3.

From 1944, when the record-keeping began, through 1981, the ice went out in the latter half of April about once every third or fourth year.  Since 2001, the ice has gone out in the latter half of April only once.

Looking at it another way, the ice cover on Spirt Lake has been decreasing in terms of how long it lasts each year for the past quarter-century or so.

The obvious conclusion is that the water temperatures in the Iowa Great Lakes are getting warmer, a result of ongoing global warming, which is part . . .
Continue reading Warmer weather at Okoboji: What it means for the lakes and those who use them

Business, Health, SiouxlandLeave a comment

Marching through restaurant inspections in Siouxland – Update for Iowa and S.D.

Gary Dickson

State, city and county food inspectors have cited Iowa and South Dakota restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations in recent weeks, including poorly cooked beef, lack of food thermometers, unclean equipment, handling food with bare hands, repeat violations and dirty kitchens.

The findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level. South Dakota food establishment inspections are handled by the South Dakota Department of Health. Listed below are some of the findings that stem from inspections at Siouxland restaurants and convenience stores over the past five weeks.

Dig in to the details. Continue reading Marching through restaurant inspections in Siouxland – Update for Iowa and S.D.

Healthcare, Iowa, Justice2 Comments

State-certified caregiver charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

Gary Dickson

A state-certified caregiver has been arrested and charged with sexually exploiting a minor while employed by an Iowa nursing home.

The most recent case, and the only one in which criminal charges have been filed, involves Guider’s employment at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona.

Over the past 12 months, Martell Guider, a 36-year-old male certified nursing assistant, has been the subject of complaints regarding a series of alleged incidents involving sexual impropriety at three Iowa nursing homes located in Audubon, Correctionville and Kalona. Continue reading State-certified caregiver charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

Crime, Government, Justice, South Dakota1 Comment

Union County Court: 3/11 – 3/22/24

Gary Dickson

Following are two weeks worth of cases that have been disposed in the Union County courts. They include everything from traffic to trucking/transportation to criminal cases.

Included is a guide to one case that looks on the surface as if it has a high number of charges. But everything is not always as it appears at first glance.

There are also a couple of high fine amounts for truckers in this round of court activities. How high can they go? Continue reading Union County Court: 3/11 – 3/22/24

Crime, HealthcareLeave a comment

Nurse criminally charged in death of care facility resident

Gary Dickson

A nurse who allegedly failed to suction the airway of a U.S. Army veteran in an Iowa nursing home has been criminally charged in the man’s death.

Becky Sue Manning, 69, of Lake View, is charged with felony wanton neglect of a healthcare facility resident. According to prosecutors, Manning, a licensed practical nurse, refused repeated requests to provide physician-ordered care for a resident of the Fonda Specialty Care nursing home while working there in 2023 as an employee of the GrapeTree Medical Staffing temp agency.

In its written response to DIA’s findings, the facility’s owners, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, said it does not admit to any statements, findings or conclusions by the state inspectors Continue reading Nurse criminally charged in death of care facility resident

Crime, Iowa, South Dakota, TransportationLeave a comment

Motor vehicle accident Monday leads to arrest for drug offenses

Gary Dickson

On Monday, March 18 at 3:52 p.m., The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office investigated a motor vehicle accident that occurred on Sioux County Road A54B, 14 miles northwest of Rock Valley, IA.

Sharon Kerschion, age 71, from Hudson, SD, was driving a 2002 Buick Century northbound on A54 when a 38-year-old male passenger, who was experiencing a mental health condition, distracted her by grabbing the steering wheel. Kerschion lost control of the vehicle and entered the west ditch where the vehicle came to rest on railroad tracks.

Simultaneously, while investigating the accident, the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office arrested Continue reading Motor vehicle accident Monday leads to arrest for drug offenses

Business, IowaLeave a comment

Sergeant Bluff entrepreneur wins SBA’s top state award

Gary Dickson

The owner of a catering business and event venue in northwest Iowa is being named the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year by the Iowa district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Cathy Bishop is the President of Aggies, Inc., a BBQ catering company in her hometown of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.

A 1983 graduate of Texas A&M (the Aggies), Bishop spent ten years in Colorado as a bank examiner. She had always dreamed of being an entrepreneur though, and in 1994 she came home and opened Aggies. Aggies began as a restaurant with some catering, but in 2009 Aggies pivoted to catering full-time and turned the restaurant into an event venue.

Continue reading Sergeant Bluff entrepreneur wins SBA’s top state award

Agriculture, BusinessLeave a comment

Elk Point’s Fleurish Flower Farm named Specialty Crop Producer of the Year

Gary Dickson

The South Dakota Specialty Producers Association (SDSPA) and the S.D. The Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources moved to recognize one specialty crop producer for making an outstanding contribution to local production in South Dakota. 

Christy Heckathorn of Fleurish Flower Farm, is the 2023 S.D. Specialty Crop Producer of the Year.

Fleurish’s one-acre flower farm, near Elk Point, S.D., is home to a variety of annuals, perennials and an heirloom pumpkin patch. Continue reading Elk Point’s Fleurish Flower Farm named Specialty Crop Producer of the Year