NO TEXTING IN SIOUXLAND???

LINCOLN—Nebraska lawmakers deciding whether there should be a ban on texting while driving may only get one side of the issue. No one testified in opposition to a texting-ban bill (LB945) during a legislative hearing on Tuesday. And there have been no letters of opposition written to the committee that is handling the bill. Instead, the Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard only from students and safety officials about why a ban is needed. The measure would bring Nebraska in line with 19 other states and the District of Columbia. A bill that passed in 2007 over Gov. Dave Heineman’s veto prohibits drivers under 18 from both texting and talking using mobile devices.

SIOUX CITY FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT FOR RAISE & GET IT

SIOUX CITY—SIOUX CITY FIREFIGHTERS WILL RECEIVE A PAY RAISE DESPITE MAYOR MIKE HOBART’S LONE VOTE AGAINST A NEW CONTRACT MONDAY.
WITH A 4-TO-1 VOTE, THE SIOUX CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT THAT GIVES FIREFIGHTERS A 2-AND-A-QUARTER INCREASE IN WAGES ANNUALLY, INCREASES IN HEALTH INSURANCE AND COMPENSATION.
HOBART SAYS THE SYSTEM CAN’T CONTINUE TO INCREASE PAY AND HOLD THE LINE ON TAXES.
SIOUX CITY FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL SEVEN PRESIDENT JASON DAVIS SAYS THE UNION WAS GETTING FRUSTERATED WITH THE COUNCIL.
HOBART SAYS HIS VOTE WAS ALSO SWAYED AFTER RECEIVING EMAILS FROM RESIDENTS ASKING WHY CITY OFFICIALS RECEIVE RAISES AND OTHERS DON’T.
THE CURRENT LABOR CONTRACT EXPIRES JUNE 30TH.

BABY TREATED IN SIOUX CITY IS A “MIRACLE”

SIOUX CITY—The mother of a baby who was thrown from a van during a rollover crash on Interstate 29 in southeast South Dakota says she thinks it is a miracle her daughter survived. The 3-month-old infant, who was treated at a Sioux City hospital, was secured in a baby seat but the seat with Adrianna still in it was ejected from the van when it went out of control on ice and crashed about three miles north of Vermillion last week. Mother Trista Voagen of Centerville says the car seat was properly buckled in but was thrown anyway. She says she found Adrianna sitting in the upright seat in the ditch, still strapped in with her blanket over her and her toys sitting beside her. Voagen says the only way to explain it is that someone was watching over the family.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER JOHN MORRELL CLOSES???

SIOUX CITY—SIOUX CITY MAYOR MIKE HOBART EXPECTS MANY DEVELOPMENTS TO OCCUR WITHIN THE NEXT TWO TO THREE WEEKS REGARDING THE JOHN MORRELL CLOSING.
HOBART EXPECTS SMITHFIELD, JOHN MORRELL’S PARENT COMPANY, TO BEGIN WORKING WITH THE CITY AND THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICETO HELP THE DISPLACED 14-HUNDRED EMPLOYEES.
HE SAYS THE CITY IS FOCUSING ON BRINGING COMPANIES TO THE AREA THAT COULD USE THE SKILLS THAT JOHN MORRELL EMPLOYEES’ POSSESS.
HE SAYS THE CITY IS NOT ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT JOB LOSS, BUT SECURING THE BUILDING.
THE SIOUX CITY JOHN MORRELL PLANT WILL CLOSE APRIL 20TH.

SIOUX CITY BARGAINS WITH FIREFIGHTERS

SIOUX CITY—MEMBERS OF THE SIOUX CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE MONDAY ON A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT WITH THE SIOUX CITY FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION LOCAL SEVEN.
MAYOR MIKE HOBART SAYS THE THREE YEAR AGREEMENT INCLUDES A 2-AND-A-QUARTER INCREASE IN WAGES EACH YEAR, INCREASES TO HEALTH INSURANCE AND COMPENSATION.
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR BRIDEY HAYES HAS BEEN WORKING HARD ON THE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT AND HOPES ALL PARTIES WALK AWAY HAPPY.
THE CURRENT LABOR CONTRACT EXPIRES JUNE 30TH.

SOUTHBRIDGE WATER TREATMENT PLANT MOVES FORWARD

SIOUX CITY—A NEARLY $5-MILLION CONTRACT MAY BE AWARDED MONDAY TO D.A. DAVIS OF SOUTH SIOUX CITY FOR WORK ON A SIOUX CITY WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
WATER PLANT SUPERINTENDENT RICK MACH SAYS THE NEW SOUTHBRIDGE REGIONAL WATER TREATMENT PLANT NEEDS FIVE MILES OF PIPING INSTALLED TO PROVIDE WATER FLOW FROM THE COLLECTOR WELL TO THE NUTRIENT PLANT.
MACH IS PLEASED WITH THE BIDS THEY RECEIVED.
THE CITY RECEIVED AN $8-MILLION I-JOBS GRANT TO ASSIST IN THE THE $35-MILLION DOLLAR SOUTHBRIDGE PROJECT.
THE PROJECT, WHICH WILL GIVE THE CITY 10-MILLION GALLONS OF EXTRA SUPPLY, NEEDS TO BE COMPLETE BY DECEMBER 31, 2011 PER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE DNR.

BABY THROWN FROM VAN RELEASED FROM SIOUX CITY HOSPITAL

SIOUX CITY—A 3-month-old baby girl who was thrown from a van during a rollover crash on Interstate 29 in southeast South Dakota has been released from a hospital in Sioux City, Iowa. The infant was secured in a baby seat but the entire seat with Adrianna still in it was ejected from the van when it went out of control on ice and crashed about 3 miles north of Vermillion Wednesday afternoon. The girl’s grandmother, Judy Voagen of Centerville, S.D., was driving the van. She also has been released from the hospital. The baby’s mother, Trista Voagen, who was not injured, said the baby seat was installed properly. The Highway Patrol said it plans no further investigation.

VANDER PLAATS OF SIOUX CITY GETS HUCKABEE SUPPORT

SIOUX CITY—Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will visit Iowa to campaign for Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City, who is a GOP candidate for governor. Huckabee, who won Iowa’s leadoff precinct caucuses in 2008, will campaign for Vander Plaats in Cedar Rapids on Feb. 24. He will attend a private luncheon at noon at the Cedar Rapids Country Club, where tickets are $1,500 per person and $2,500 per couple. In addition, Vander Plaats’ campaign says Huckabee will attend a free public rally at a Cedar Rapids hotel. Vander Plaats was chairman of Huckabee’s Iowa caucus campaign, and Huckabee endorsed his gubernatorial campaign last year. He keynoted two events for Vander Plaats last summer in Spirit Lake.

SIOUX CITY TEENS MAY NEED TO BUCKLE UP

SIOUX CITY—IOWA TEENAGERS WOULD HAVE TO BUCKLE-UP IN THE BACK SEAT OF A BILL THAT CLEARED THE SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE BECOMES LAW.
UNDER CURRENT STATE LAW, ALL FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS MUST WEAR A SEATBELT AND ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF TEN MUST WEAR A SEATBELT REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY ARE SEATED IN THE FRONT OR BACK.
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR DARYL BEALL OF FORT DODGE SAYS ACCIDENT DATA SHOWS KIDS OVER THE AGE OF 11 AND MOST TEENS UNDER 18 ARE NOT WEARING THEIR BELTS.
SENATOR BILL HECKROTH, A DEMOCRAT FROM WAVERLY, SAYS THE MOVE MAY SAVE LIVES AND PREVENT INJURIES.
THE MEASURE NOW GOES TO THE FULL SENATE FOR DEBATE.

SIOUX CITY POLICE OFFICER INJURED ON DUTY

SIOUX CITY—A SIOUX CITY POLICE OFFICER WAS INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT MONDAY NIGHT AND TRANSFERRED TO MERCY HOSPITAL.
POLICE OFFICIALS SAY 18 YEAR OLD EMILY TOPE OF SIOUX CITY WAS TRAVELING EAST IN THE 35-HUNDRED BLOCK OF OUTER DRIVE WHEN SHE LOST CONTROL AND CROSSED THE CENTER LINE STRIKING A SIOUX CITY SQUAD CAR.
THE POLICE VEHICLE WAS BEING OPERATED BY 29 YEAR OLD OFFICER MICHAEL WINGERT.
BOTH DRIVERS WERE TRANSPORTED TO MERCY WITH SERIOUS, BUT NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES.