Sioux Center, Iowa (RI/KIWA) — We are all facing coronavirus and the possibility of coming down with COVID-19 and/or transmitting it to others. But one northwest Iowa community has taken the unusual step of discouraging travel to COVID-19 hotspots.
The elected officials in Sioux Center are asking residents to avoid travel to nearby Minnesota and South Dakota where COVID-19 outbreaks have been identified at meat-packing plants.
Sioux Center Mayor Dave Krahling says although he’s impressed by ways Sioux Center residents have taken safety measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus seriously, he says that recent rapid increases in positive COVID cases in neighboring states are a sobering reminder the spread is still active.
Kahling says that the close proximity to hot spots is especially concerning, with Sioux Falls, South Dakota just a 45-minute drive away. He says many local residents have family living in southwest Minnesota and in Sioux Falls. He says family visits in these areas increase the possibility of more widespread infection in northwest Iowa.
Mayor Krahling and the City Council are asking Sioux Center residents to limit travel to these states and outside of the region.
