Archives March 2026

by Ima Phibber

Good things are happening in The Valley and in Strong River Bend (SRB). People have been watching the construction of the new shopping center in SRB for some time, and it finally opened this Monday. Strong River Bend Commons opened to much fanfare, and the parking lot has been packed with cars.

Strong River Bend Commons aka The Commons is not a large development; it only contains 3 tenants. But, it’s going to house three exciting businesses. The Commons was the brainchild of Valley entrepreneur Bubba Binness. Binness said, “I’ve been wanting to build a premier commercial development in SRB for quite a while, and I’ve finally got it done. I had all 3 suites occupied well before the building was completed. I think the people of SRB are really going to enjoy The Commons, and the businesses are going to be a great service to our community.”

The center tenant is a vape shop- Visionary Vapes. On one end is a nutrition shop- SRB Nutrition, and the other end is a liquor store- Valley View Liquor. SRB Nutrition will have loaded teas, energy drinks, and other drinks. People have been flocking to The Commons this week to check out these new businesses. I was able to speak to multiple members of the community, and I got some mixed feelings.

One lady said, “I’m so pumped about this. I can start at SRB Nutrition with my favorite loaded tea, then I can go over to the vape shop and get my refills, and I can finish up at the liquor store. What else could a person need? I’m excited, and I’m gonna be hangin out at The Commons a lot.”

An older gentleman said, “This is an embarrassment. How did the board of aldermen approve this? We really need a vape shop and a liquor store around here! As a believer and a Baptist, I am appalled. Couldn’t they have put something else there? Maybe a Subway? I know it cost an arm a leg to eat there now, but come on! I doubt you’ll see me at The Commons.”

by Offe Hisczrocher

Valley County is always on the cutting edge. They don’t mind standing out from the crowd and trying new things. One example is the county voting to make daylight saving time permanent in 2024. You can read our story about that HERE. Now, they’re going to do something that no other county in the US has done. They’re going to allow Valley County residents to add emojis to their vehicle tags.

Tags with emojis will be considered personalized tags. Vehicle owners that choose to add an emoji to their tag will be charged an additional $10 per emoji in addition to the normal personalized tag fee. A maximum of 3 emojis can be added to a tag. The county looks to generate thousands in additional revenue by offering this to Valley County residents.

Valley County Tax Collector Zack Keyus said, “A person in our office suggested offering emojis on our car tags a while back. We all laughed and thought it was funny. But, I began to think about it, and I realized this would probably be popular with our taxpayers. And, it could potentially generate thousands in additional revenue for the county, and it would give us some good publicity. I presented it to the county at our monthly meeting a few months ago, and they approved it. We’ve been working out the details since, and here we are. We’re excited about it.”

Again, only 3 emojis max will be allowed per tag. Also, no inappropriate emojis will be allowed. One issue that arose is with law enforcement. How do they run car tags with emojis? How will law enforcement, dispatchers, and citizens be on the same page when reporting crime and running tags? All law enforcement officers in Valley County met with the Keyus to discuss any issues. Keyus provided all law enforcement agencies with emoji cheat sheets to identify all the allowed emojis, so that should help with any confusion.

I was able to speak to multiple Valley County residents about the county allowing emojis on vehicle tags, and I got mixed feelings. One older gentleman said, “This is a joke right? I just learned how to text last year, and I don’t even know how to use emojis. I still use correct punctuation when I text. I have to call my kids and grandkids all the time trying to decipher their text messages when they use emojis and that lol, idk, ttyl crap. I guess things are just passing me by, but I don’t like this emoji stuff.”

One young lady said, “This is so cool! I can’t wait to get a new tag. I’m definitely getting 3 emojis on my tag. I told my friend in another county about it, and she was so jealous. But, how am I going to choose what 3 emojis I want? That’s going to be tough.”

It will interesting to see the emoji tags and how people will use them to express themselves. Will other counties across the state follow Valley County’s lead and offer them? If they generate a lot of additional revenue, you can bet they will.

by Heeza de Seaver

The SRVTI was back in the lab this week. They read our story last week about the couple that had a domestic dispute at McDonald’s because they couldn’t decide on a place to eat. This is very common issue with couples and families, so the SRVTI decided to create an app to solve the issue- Grub Roulette.

GRUB ROULETTE SITE

Grub Roulette will allow you to add up to 7 restaurants based on your location. Then, it will spin a wheel and make the dining decision for you. Of course, someone in the family may not like the selected restaurant, but Grub Roulette made the decision for you. So, there’s no person to blame.

The SRVTI is all about solving problems for everyday Valleyans, and they feel Grub Roulette will do that. I can’t wait to see their next creation.

by I. B. Lyon

The Valley City Police Dept. (VCPD) was called to McDonald’s on Tuesday evening at approximately 7:25 pm. A McDonald’s employee called the police after observing a couple in the midst of a domestic dispute while in the drive through. A McDonald’s customer also called the police after seeing the couple fighting. It was an unfortunate event, but I’m sure most of you will be able to sympathize with the couple.

The police arrived at approximately 7:28 pm. The couple was sitting in their car in the parking lot. Two VCPD officers approached the car, and they talked with the husband and wife separately. After the discussions, no charges were filed. VCPD has promised not to release the identities of the couple. However, I was able to get a statement from the VCPD about the situation. Many are speculating that is was a prominent well-known couple in Valley County, but I haven’t been able to confirm that.

The VCPD spokesperson stated, “The couple was involved in a domestic dispute that did not turn physical, but it got very heated. The couple was getting along great earlier in the evening, and they decided to go out to eat. They could not decide on a place to eat, and they went back and forth for about 30 minutes. The wife stated multiple times that she didn’t care where they ate, but she shot down all the husband’s suggestions. They both became more agitated as the minutes passed by. Finally, the husband decided they would just go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s. The wife did not respond well to that, and all hell broke loose.”

Fortunately, my wife and I have a policy that would’ve avoided this issue. If we can’t decide where to eat after 5 minutes, then we go to Waffle House. This is something I’d recommend for every couple. We have a similar policy in regards to Netflix. In the past, it would take us 30 minutes to decide what to watch, and we’d end up not watching anything and just scrolling on our phones. So, we decided that if we can’t agree on a show or movie after 5 minutes, then we have to watch Gunsmoke.

Thankfully, this domestic situation did not turn violent, and it’s probably best that we never know the couple’s identity. All couples have arguments, and they sometimes get pretty heated. The VCPD spokesperson also said the McDonald’s ice cream machine wasn’t working, so that set the wife off even more. The husband should’ve drove to Sonic or Dairy Queen.