Sioux County appoints new sheriff
Sioux County has a new sheriff in Nate Huizenga, who was sworn in on Friday afternoon in Orange City. Sheriff Huizenga has taken over the role from Jamie VanVoorst, who retired from the role on December 31st.
Born and raised in Orange City, Huizenga has served with the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office since 2001, including more than a decade as Chief Deputy from 2013 until Friday. Huizenga will succeed VanVoorst, who announced his retirement at the end of 2025 in November. VanVoorst had been sheriff since 2022, and had served in law enforcement since 1993.
In a statement, Sheriff Huizenga says that he is “grateful for the opprotunity” and that he looks forward to “continuing the high standard of law enforcement services the citizens of Sioux County expect and deserve.”
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Remsen Chamber of Commerce to hold annual meeting next week
The Remsen Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual meeting next Monday, January 12th at the Golden Pheasant in Remsen.
During the meeting, a brief overview of Chamber events during 2025 will be given, as well as updates from the Remsen Economic Development and Remsen Growth Coalition Boards. Two awards will also be presented at the meeting: the “Employee/Citizen of the Year” award, and the “Business of the Year” award. Dinner will be served during the meeting, with meals including chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salads, and cheesecake.
The evening starts with a social hour at 5pm, followed by dinner at 6pm and an informational meeting to follow. Dinner tickets for the meeting start at $35 per person, and can be purchased in advance at American Bank and Iowa State Bank in Remsen until the end of the day today. The meeting itself will take place next Monday at the Golden Pheasant in Remsen.
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City council to have first meeting of 2026 tomorrow
The Le Mars city council will meet tomorrow afternoon for their first meeting of 2026, and the first meeting of newly-elected councilman Derek Conyers’ term.
On the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting includes approving a services agreement to update the community development plan, discussion on the Business Highway 75 reconstruction project, and approving the final plat of Crossroads Commons.
The meeting will be held tomorrow at noon inside of the council’s chambers in City Hall.
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Senate GOP Leader, a former smoker, not opposed to taxing vapes
Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh says he’ll have a conversation with his fellow Republicans about whether vaping products — the liquid pods or cartridges used in e-cigarettes — should be taxed in Iowa, just like cigarettes.
That would hurt retailers in Iowa’s border areas, Klimesh says, as Iowans who vape might start going to a neighboring state to buy their supplies. Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois all tax vaping products. South Dakota and Missouri don’t. Klimesh is a former smoker who says he’s tried to wean himself off nicotine for the past 20 years and he introduced a bill this past year that would have taxed vaping liquid as well as nicotine pouches which are wedged inside a person’s bottom lip like smokeless tobacco. This fall, Senate Republicans chose Klimesh to be their new leader and he says that means he has a different role in the lawmaking process.
According to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, the cigarette smoking rate among Iowa adults has dropped to five-point-six percent, but the use of e-cigarettes continues to rise — with 23-and-a-half percent of 18 and 24 year olds vaping regularly.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
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