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Sioux City residents press council to use "specified crime property" code after repeated neighborhood violence
Summary
Jody Merkel, a long‑term resident and taxpayer, told the Sioux City City Council that "what began as an isolated...disturbances has escalated into sustained public safety crisis that's now persisted over 18 months," and urged the city to use municipal code 8.8 to declare a frequently troubled house a "specified crime property."
Jody Merkel, a long‑term resident and taxpayer, told the Sioux City City Council that "what began as an isolated...disturbances has escalated into sustained public safety crisis that's now persisted over 18 months," and asked the city to seek a municipal designation under Sioux City Municipal Code 8.8 for a structure she says is the center of ongoing drug activity.
Merkel said the house is inside walking routes for East Middle and Sunnyside Elementary schools and described multiple incidents, including what she called a video of a person conducting a drug transaction during soccer practice and a recent attempted murder where a suspect ran through her front yard. She said the homeowner, identified in public comment as Steven Starks, is jailed on multiple felony…
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