The first tenant of Sioux City's Southbridge Business Park is now up and running. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Sabre Industries Thursday. Sabre is a telecommunications and wireless transmission company. Its new 192,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility will be used to manufacture utility transmission structures. The expansion will create 100 new jobs initially and more than 500 in the long term. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad was among those on hand for the ribbon-cutting.
Governor Branstad is criss-crossing the state to sell the message from his 'Condition of the State' speech he gave on Tuesday. During an interview with KTIV's Matt Breen, he outlined his plan to provide property tax relief and raise teacher pay. Together, they'll cost nearly $600-million over five years. Branstad says the cost will be covered by the state's billion-dollar surplus.
More than 300 people packed a room in Norfolk, Nebraska for the final public hearing over the groundwater debate. Because last summer's drought drained a lot of wells, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District is considering new regulations for irrigation management. The board is considering requiring flow meters, setting maximum irrigation amounts, and restricting new irrigated acres. The NRD will announce its ruling next Thursday.
Officials at Western Iowa Tech Community College are hoping voters will support a tax levy at the polls. The levy pours $400,000 a year into its classrooms. Voting is February 5th at the Long Lines Center. Absentee voting takes place January 29th and 30th at the Western Iowa Tech book store.
