By Dean Welte
Published: Jul. 2, 2024 at 4:08 PM CDT|Updated: Jul. 2, 2024 at 4:21 PM CDT
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (KTIV) - North Sioux City officials provided another update Tuesday on the flooding recovery efforts in their area.
This comes as flood relief efforts continue at McCook Lake where floodwaters damaged dozens of homes on Sunday, June 23.
Here’s the newest progress report, according to the City of North Sioux City.
- Crews are working to unplug a culvert so it can drain the area and reopen Highway 105, which still has water over the roadway.
- The lake and much of Northshore Drive remain closed but controlled access has now started for some residents.
- Construction is now underway on a temporary road to the north side of Penrose Drive. That work is expected to be finished later this week.
- Water and sewer is now restored to several homes along Penrose.
- City leaders will begin having daily calls with the governor’s office and will post updates on North Sioux City’s Facebook page.
“There’s an eagerness to get into homes. Absolutely understand that. But with recent rains, the ground is unstable there. It’s an evolving situation where we are constantly trying to evaluate that area to ensure that people are safe and that people can get into their homes and that we are not going to have a tragedy,” said Andrew Nilges, a public information officer for McCook Lake flooding recovery efforts.
Contractors are working to bring critical infrastructure back to McCook Lake, including getting fire protection hooked back up for the school. John Brown with the engineering team says, depending on their work, it could impact when residents can and cannot access their homes.
”We’re hearing the concerns and we are trying to allow people to get in where they can get in. It is very concerning to us that we have people showing up in the evenings and we don’t want that to happen. We want to make sure that we are securing the space so that they don’t get hurt and we don’t lose a life,” said John Brown with Stockwell Engineering.
Communication has been a sticking point for many McCook Lake residents in the hours leading up to and after the June 23 flood. One resident told KTIV she, and others, are frustrated by the lack of communication from city officials. Kathy Roberts said the communication that does come through is always changing without warning.
On Tuesday, Roberts, whose home is on Penrose Drive, was denied access to her flood-damaged home.
”I have been blocked out of access to my house. They say due to work that is being done in close proximity to my house. However, I have a next-door neighbor who is there and working and says there is now work being done in close proximity to my house,” said Roberts.
Roberts said she understands everyone needs to work together but she and her neighbors are asking for the truth from city officials.
”If someone would tell me you can work until this infrastructure work is taking place, I will leave at that time. I will respect that. But I am not in anybody’s way. They are not in my way. And the lies just have to stop. I just want the truth and some respect. We are human beings. We are human beings that are going through a very tragic situation. Have some compassion for us, but just be a good human,” said Roberts.
Volunteers are needed to help McCook Lake residents deal with the aftermath of the flooding, you can learn more about those needs here.
Along with an update from North Sioux City officials, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was in the area Tuesday and met with city and county leaders to discuss the current recovery efforts in McCook Lake and Union County. She confirmed FEMA teams will be in the area in the coming weeks.
”We’ve been in communication with FEMA the entire time. The date that they have given us that they will be here is July 12 because we need to continue to assess our damages. I would encourage everybody to go to SD.gov, get the individual form and fill it out if you’ve had personal losses. And then also we will continue to work with our cities and counties and look at public infrastructure and see what that damage was,” said Gov. Noem. To be clear, you can submit your flood damage form on South Dakota’s website, you can get to that site directly by following the link here.
Many McCook Lake residents have asked KTIV, why hasn’t the Nationall Guard been activated to assist McCook Lake residents. That request, Noem said, has to come from the city or county.
There hasn’t been a request made, but I think that is because in discussions, there hasn’t been a knowledge of what the National Guard would do,” explained Gov. Noem. “They need to be utilized in a way that is responsive to community needs. That’s always something that could be available if we identify what that mission would be, but that hasn’t been requested yet.”
Gov. Noem told KTIV that her team will begin having daily conversations with leaders in North Sioux City to discuss progress being made in McCook Lake and Union County.
As we continue to follow along with the newest updates the next official update is expected Wednesday, July 3 at a Special City Council meeting that begins at 7 p.m. KTIV also had the chance to discuss flood recovery efforts with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. A recording of that discussion can be viewed at the top of this article, along with our discussion with North Sioux City officials.
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