Tourism growth is also being encouraged through a regional branding effort called Explore Siouxland, supported by the Sioux City Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. With major highways running through the county and increased travel activity post-pandemic, leaders report steady growth in out-of-state visitors and increased participation in festivals, markets, and outdoor recreation. LOOKING AHEAD: RESOURCES, FAMILIES, AND RURAL VITALITY Asked about priorities over the next two years, county leadership returned to three themes: ensuring basic resources for business growth, attracting and retaining families, and supporting rural communities. Power and infrastructure capacity remain at the top of the list, not simply for current needs, but to ensure Woodbury County can welcome new investment without constraints.The county also sees families— especially young families with children—as essential to long-term vitality. Families fill schools, support churches and civic life, participate in parks and events, and bring stability to communities. As part of that family-focused strategy, county leaders are also supporting practical solutions such as childcare expansion in rural communities— recognizing that workforce participation and family relocation decisions increasingly hinge on childcare availability. Finally, rural towns remain central to the county’s identity and future. Supporting those communities through pro-business policy, infrastructure alignment, and local partnership is a priority leadership views as inseparable from county success. Woodbury County’s strength is that it does not ask residents to choose between rural and urban, between opportunity and peace, between nature and amenities. It offers all of them—steadily building a future where businesses can grow, families can settle, and communities can thrive. 279 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 WOODBURY COUNTY, IA
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