Last Wednesday the Chamber started the morning off with a ribbon cutting at One Stop Meat Shop, owned by Ron Muth. While uploading photos of this ceremony I began to wonder, “What is this place?” It didn’t take me long to do a little research and realize that Siouxland is very lucky to have a place like One Stop Meat Shop in our area! I was amazed at the variety of meat they have along with other organic products, including milk, butter, cream, and fabulous organic cheeses.
The meat they offer includes beef, pork, buffalo, elk, lamb, ducks, geese and fish which are all frozen and ready to be bought, grilled, broiled or stir fried. The best part though, is that these meats are locally produced! That’s right, you’d be eating home-grown, grass fed products which equals deliciousness. I also learned that the One Stop Meat Shop has amazing homemade pies that are provided by Carol’s Kitchen. This is very exciting news for a college kid who eats at a cafeteria three times a day. I think a slice of strawberry pie is just what I need!
One Stop Meat Shop has moved to its new location at 519 4th Street so stop in and grab tonight’s dinner!
Take Flight Cheer is a Christian non-profit Cheerleading organization here in Sioux City. As a team they have participated in the Younkers Community Day Event Sales for the past four years. In those four years their teams have raised over $5000. The leader of their organization said “I would encourage, strongly encourage, other non-profit agencies in the area to participate in this sale. This is such a wonderful and easy opportunity to raise money. I also would like to encourage other businesses in the area to help sponsor non-profits, to adopt them, to help them in their goal to reach those with needs in the city.”
Younkers would also like to extend an invitation to all Siouxland businesses to join them by adopting Take Flight Cheer or any other non-profit agency of your choice. Please support Sioux City Younkers and partner with them in this great fundraiser. Contact Younkers for all the details.
Spring Community Day at Younkers is February 27th. They are offering all area non-profit organizations to join them to earn much needed funds. Younkers will donate coupon booklets to your non-profit, and then you can sell them for $5. Your organization keeps all of the $5. If you sell at least 75 coupon booklets and meet qualifying criteria you are eligible to receive additional monies generated by Younkers associate coupon sales. Be in the top 25% of selling agencies and meet qualifying criteria to be invited to sell additional coupons on Community Day.
The Orpheum Theatre and the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce Present: A Night at the Movies! I consider myself a huge fan of movies. Usually when people I know have questions about who starred in this film, or who directed what, they call me instead of Google. Sometimes at three in the morning. While I’ve settled many bets, such as who played Max Cady in the original “Cape Fear”, many movie buffs in Siouxland will be foaming at the mouth over this contest the Orpheum Theatre is holding in conjunction with the us here at the Chamber.
All right film fans, how would you and 20 of your friends like to have a private screening of the movie of your choice at the largest screen in Sioux City? Pretty cool huh? Well it doesn’t end there. You will also be privy to a private tour of our beautiful Orpheum Theatre, including backstage and dressing rooms, and soda and snacks will be provided for you and your guests.
All you have to do is get on facebook and go to the page for either the Siouxland Chamber or the Orpheum Theatre. When you get there post one thing that you love about the Orpheum Theatre. It’s that easy. If you post on both pages (Siouxland Chamber & Orpheum Theatre) you double your chance of winning! If you are the winner, just remember, we here at the Chamber consider you as our friend, so feel free to invite Chelsey and I as part of your group of 20.
After their magical night at the movies, our winner will be asked to guest blog about their experience.
Over two million students nationwide are enrolled in Catholic schools. Having several in our own community this week is especially exciting because it is Catholic schools week and their theme for this year is “Catholic Schools- Dividends For Life” and it stresses faith, knowledge, discipline and morals.
Coming up on Thursday, February 11th is the Sioux City Musketeers 12th Annual Face Off For Charity, where the players prove they’re more than just athletes. The event, catered by Applebee’s, will be held at the Tyson Event Center and will be filled with fun, food and a live and silent auction.
To hear what Chris McGowan has to say about both of these events listen to this week’s Positively Siouxland.
RAGBRAI is not a new occurrence for Sioux City. In fact, this year will be the sixth time that it has passed through our streets, but something about this year makes it more exciting. It could be because we’re the starting city of the trek but more importantly it’s because our city has really blossomed since our last mark on the trail in 2001.
RAGBRAI means more to the Chamber than just bringing in dollars to our community. Don’t get me wrong, that’s great, but it also means we get to share Siouxland and show off what we’ve accomplished. It’s like I always say, “What’s the point of wearing a new outfit if no one’s going to see it!” Some of the attractions this year will include our revamped riverfront bike trails and Orpheum theatre and the rejuvenated Historic Fourth Street. Other features will include our rock climbing wall,Tyson Event Center, Anderson Dance Pavilion, and the Sioux City Explorers park. Siouxland has worked hard to make each of these things possible and it has paid off because now the members of RAGBRAI can enjoy the scenery. Although this ride is said to be one of the flattest routes ever, Sioux City hopes to call this bluff by showcasing our Riverfront, proving that not all of Iowa is flat or covered in corn fields!
For more information on the location/events of each day visit ragbrai.com
Making a short film is much harder than it looks. You have to get a story across in a very short amount of time, and do it affectively. I found this out first hand when the rumors of a short film festival in Sioux City started circulating five years ago. I pretty much had to beg, borrow, but not quite steal to get my film made. Luckily, I was one of about a dozen that was chosen to be screened the night of the festival. As I walked into the Orpheum Theater I had flashes of red carpet moments and Joan Rivers telling me I looked like crap. Alas, I had to settle for great people who appreciate the art of film telling me I did a great job.
The fifth annual Siouxand Film Festival has sounded the call for submissions, and if you are a local filmmaker, or just always wanted to try and tell a great story through film, I urge you to give it a go. The popularity of short film making has exploded over the past few years, and if you ever wanted to get involved now is the time. Submissions are being accepted through January 31st so you still have a few days, and the event is to take place March 27th at the Orpheum Theater, with two seperate screening times. For more information and a downloadable copy of the entry form please visit the following link. http://www.orpheumlive.com/events/showEvent.php?p=2&ID=420
When I want to send someone a quick message I usually default to texting, but in the business world email is still the trusted tool of communication. With messages flying in and out of your boxes it can be easy to slide into the casual realm, especially when you have a million other things to worry about. However, a little attention to detail on your part can really pay off in the long run. Here are some basic rules for proper email etiquette that even Emily Post would give her nod to.
Good government decisions are never made in backrooms outside of ‘public debate,’ yet it appears that backroom decisions impacted the Sioux City Community School District last week.
The Federal Government announced last fall a second round of stimulus money offered up to those states who signed on to certain preconditions to affect school reform and improvement. This program has been titled ‘Race to the Top’ or RTTT. Several of the preconditions required by this program run counter to Iowa Code. Regardless of that fact, the Governor and the Iowa Department of Education officials decided to apply for these funds to help cover their inability to fund current and proposed budgets for education.
In order to comply with Federal rules, the Governor and ISEA (Iowa State Education Association) appear to have cut a deal that will dramatically alter current rules that Boards of Education and their administrations use to affect school improvement without input from other interested parties (i.e. Boards of Education, IASD, SAI, the Urban Education Network, parents, community members, students, and others who work for school improvement on a daily basis).
This is the kind of misguided decision process that costs all of us time, money, and a great deal of frustration. I appeal to the Governor and the Department of Education to apply sound principles of good government by allowing public discussion of these important issues, so that all interested parties can have a stake and a belief in these policies that we will all have to work under to improve our schools.
– Doug Batcheller, President of the Sioux City Community School District
The Chamber has always brought the Siouxland community news and story updates. Now, we are taking it up a notch and getting the story “straight from the horse’s mouth,” figuratively speaking. Prominent leaders in the community will be discussing local issues and voicing their personal opinions. These people live and work in Siouxland and are letting their voices be heard. Starting us off will be a few words from a local business owner, who is directly involved with an area school system.
This is a great opportunity to learn about things happening in our community and to read about them through posts from well-informed individuals. Check back next week to see who will be chosen next to speak about issues dealing directly with Siouxland.
Most conference meetings can be compared to my 8:00 A.M. classes…boring, uneventful and an opportune time for a little cat nap. But that’s not the case anymore! Many small businesses are encouraging interaction during these meetings in order to get more bang for their buck.
Heather Logrippo, owner and publisher of “Distinctive Homes,” a monthly magazine in Boston, handed out construction paper and crayons to her employees and told them to draw their ideas for an incentive program with those resources. I’ve noticed through my Resident Assistant job that adults love to revert back to childhood activities, so this was brilliant! Dixon Schwabl Advertising Inc., in Rochester, N.Y. had a similar strategy, but instead of crayons and paper, he used the always fun, watergun. Every employee was required to bring theirs to the meetings and use without repercussion on anyone who uttered a negative comment. Needless to say, a positive atmosphere was the outcome.
Hitting a little closer to home was an idea from Angela Bagby, director of marketing and client relations for Russell Construction Co. in Davenport, IA. Bagby introduced a new device that calculated just how much money the company was spending by the employees attending the meeting. Their initial 90-minute meeting cost the company $5,000! This new appreciation for time well spent definitely made employees interact more and keep their focus.
Last Wednesday the Chamber started the morning off with a ribbon cutting at One Stop Meat Shop, owned by Ron Muth. While uplo
ading photos of this ceremony I began to wonder, “What is this place?” It didn’t take me long to do a little research and realize that Siouxland is very lucky to have a place like One Stop Meat Shop in our area! I was amazed at the variety of meat they have along with other organic products, including milk, butter, cream, and fabulous organic cheeses.
fed products which equals deliciousness. I also learned that the One Stop Meat Shop has amazing homemade pies that are provided by Carol’s Kitchen. This is very exciting news for a college kid who eats at a cafeteria three times a day. I think a slice of strawberry pie is just what I need!
The Orpheum Theatre and the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce Present: A Night at the Movies! I consider myself a huge fan of movies. Usually when people I know have questions about who starred in this film, or who directed what, they call me instead of Google. Sometimes at three in the morning. While I’ve settled many bets, such as who played Max Cady in the original “Cape Fear”, many movie buffs in Siouxland will be foaming at the mouth over this contest the Orpheum Theatre is holding in conjunction with the us here at the Chamber.
