Orange City, Iowa — In May, we told you that the Sioux Rivers Mental Health Region was no longer considering Sheldon for the location of their access center because they were going to try to partner with a Spirit Lake facility. Well now that has fallen through, and Sheldon may once again be on the table.
The Spirit Lake City Council has voted against changing the city’s zoning ordinance so a mental health access center could open in a commercial area near Spirit Lake’s downtown. Shane Walter, CEO of the Sioux Rivers Mental Health Region, says the center would reduce the involvement of law enforcement and reduce use of the emergency room at Spirit Lake’s hospital when someone needs mental health services.
He says the facility was to have been located in the same building as Lakes Life Skills, but their services are different enough that the Sioux Rivers Mental Health Region needed a zoning change in order to operate from that building.
Spirit Lake City Councilman Jerry Harbst says the decision to deny the zoning change for a site downtown doesn’t mean the council is against bringing mental health services to the city.
Walter says not only did the city council deny the zoning change, he left with the feeling that staff from Lakes Regional Hospital Avera and local law enforcement in Spirit Lake, among others, did not support what they were trying to do.
Walter says he’s somewhat puzzled about the Spirit Lake decision.
The good news for Sheldon is that the community may be on the table once again, says Walter.
Sioux Rivers is one of the 14 regional networks in Iowa created under state law to provide better access to mental health and disabilities services. The Sioux Rivers region covers Plymouth, Sioux, Lyon, O’Brien, Dickinson, and Emmet counties.
