Good morning, Sioux City.

After a year-long deployment in Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan, Sergeant Tristen VanderSchaaf returned on April 30 and surprised his favorite niece Ember at Loess Hills Elementary School on Friday.

The community celebrated his homecoming with a welcome parade in Sergeant Bluff + an emotional school reunion.

At the spring Shredtastic event at Siouxland Center for Active Generations, seniors safely shredded sensitive documents to prevent scams.

The Connections Area Agency on Aging will host another event in the fall, while Goodwill’s GoodShred truck offers free shredding next Friday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

KTIV and Gray Media launched the Star-Spangled Sing-Off contest on Friday, May 1 to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, inviting contestants to submit solo a cappella renditions of the National Anthem for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Nashville.

Sioux City Art Center presents David Plowden’s Iowa, a 90-photo exhibit on loan from Humanities Iowa capturing rural communities and farms from May 5 to Sept.

21. A Cinco de Mayo reception with free margaritas will be held on Tuesday, May 5, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Local Siouxland job listings are available online for job seekers looking for new career opportunities and a variety of roles in diverse fields.

Local attorneys gathered on Friday morning at Woodbury County Courthouse for the Law Day ceremony, reaffirming their commitment to ethical practice — one of 75 events nationwide, including 12 in Iowa, that highlights the role of legal professionals in the community.

The city released its construction schedule covering projects from bridge reconstructions to sidewalk and utility upgrades (including a new 10-foot bike trail on the 6th Street Bridge) planned from now through summer 2027.

Work includes teams starting March 17 with other projects set for completion later this year.

Sioux City Police unveiled a U.S. 250th anniversary squad car that will soon serve in regular patrols and appear at community events and parades – a feature of ongoing outreach as the nation nears its milestone anniversary.

Siouxland Miracle Riders celebrated their success at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s where $75,000 raised helped purchase new pediatric ambulance equipment for young patients (the group plans to raise another $60,000 later this year).

At Rev-Tac Training Institute downtown, local instructors led a three-hour trauma care course Thursday night so residents learned to apply tourniquets and treat chest, head, and abdominal injuries while waiting for first responders.

Walleye Weekend, an annual fishing competition with a $44,000 prize fish, is set to kick off the tourism season at the Iowa Great Lakes.

More than a thousand anglers are registered and more will join before registration closes tonight.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Record Show

12-5 p.m. — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City — Free admission — Discover and collect records, CDs, and DVDs across various music genres for every budget.