Tag: travel

Environment, Government, North Sioux CityLeave a comment
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McCook Lake residents say their homes were sacrificed, and they want a new flood plan

Gary Dickson

Homeowners allege inadequate warnings, authorities defend communication in the face of record floodwaters at McCook Lake, South Dakota. State and local authorities executed a flood mitigation plan, but some residents claim insufficient warnings. Cleanup and future plans are now in question as the community grapples with the aftermath of the devastating flood. Continue reading McCook Lake residents say their homes were sacrificed, and they want a new flood plan

Transportation1 Comment
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Local driver is a slow learner

Gary Dickson

Despite warnings about water-covered roadways and “Road Closed” signs in the Siouxland area, a man chose to disregard them and drove around the barriers, getting his car stuck in floodwaters. Onlookers laughed as he attempted to fix the car, but two women eventually helped him before leaving. The incident emphasized the importance of heeding safety warnings. Continue reading Local driver is a slow learner

South Dakota, Transportation2 Comments
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Semi overturns at Jefferson on-ramp Tuesday afternoon

Gary Dickson

A semi-truck carrying snacks overturned after the driver turned too wide onto an on-ramp, sliding into tall grass and tipping over. The driver was uninjured but expressed concern about the lack of warning signs for the steep hill and tall grass. Three wreckers were needed to pull the rig back onto the ramp, closing traffic for several hours. The Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. Continue reading Semi overturns at Jefferson on-ramp Tuesday afternoon

Business, Health, SiouxlandLeave a comment
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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.

Siouxland Observed1 Comment
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Siouxland Observed, #10: Where is this and what was it called?

Gary Dickson

Yeah, I know, it’s been a while since I’ve posted a “Siouxland Observed” feature – two months almost to the day. Let’s see if we can get more folks participating in this photo guessing game with two pictures of a popular Union County eating spot until it closed a couple of years ago.

The restaurant/lounge sat on the outskirts of one of our population centers. It had good cow, chicken, fish, and a salad bar. Continue reading Siouxland Observed, #10: Where is this and what was it called?

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

Crime, History, Iowa, People, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Siouxland, Small towns, South DakotaLeave a comment

So, a few years ago this week . . .

Gary Dickson

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 . . .