Five Questions with … Sioux City Councilman Matthew O’Kane on the Yamanashi City trip
By DOLLY A. BUTZ – Sioux City Journal, Iowa (TNS)
SIOUX CITY — Sioux City council members Julie Schoenherr, Alex Watters and Matthew O’Kane traveled to Yamanashi City, Japan, in late October.
The purpose of the trip to Sioux City’s sister city was for the councilmembers to learn about Yamanashi City and how they can best facilitate future collaborations between the two cities and their citizens. A delegation from Yamanashi City traveled to Sioux City in November 2023 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the sister city relationship.
A sister city affiliation between the two cities was signed on Nov. 6, 2003. Yamanashi City, which is located roughly 100 kilometers from Tokyo, has a population of around 34,000 people.
Sioux City has maintained a sister city relationship with Lake Charles, Louisiana, for more than 20 years and inked a sister city agreement with Gjilan, Kosovo, in 2020.
Matthew O’Kane
City councilman Matthew O’Kane is shown in this 2024 photo provided by the City of Sioux City.
The Journal asked O’Kane five questions about the trip to Japan. Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
What was the purpose of your trip to Yamanashi City, Japan?
“The purpose of our trip to Yamanashi City was to learn more about their culture, history and the operations of their city and private entities. Being a teacher, I was also uniquely interested in learning about their educational practices. I was looking for ways Sioux City could partner with Yamanashi City to foster cultural appreciation and open exchange with our counterparts. In addition, I wanted to explore ways to encourage further trade between our cities. I want people to be able to experience Yamanashi City here at home.”
Tell me about your agenda while there. What were some sites you visited and activities you participated in?
“We had quite a full agenda and got to visit some amazing places. Some that stick out include our incredible welcoming we received at City Hall on the first day with the entire staff waving American flags and shaking hands. Seeing how they honor our Sister City partnership by having a dedicated space for art and artifacts from Sioux City was incredible too. Visiting the Fruit Park was wonderful. It is a green space that is maintained by the city, the prefecture and the national government working in tandem. They also have businesses that operate within the park to attract patrons and encourage commerce. We learned first-hand of how their hybrid system of healthcare brings a physical and virtual team of professionals to residents doors to make healthcare accessible to all. We also visited a repurposed school that was operating as a drone flight school and practicing business. They aided the local police department by patrolling fields with fly overs.”
What was your favorite part of the trip and why?
“Being a teacher, stepping foot into a Japanese classroom was such an incredible experience. I whole-heartedly expected the differences in how classroom in Japan operate to be glaring, but it was just like being at home. The kids laughed and had fun with their responses. They hooted and hollered when Steven Postolka mentioned Shohei Ohtani. I showed them a picture of J.D. Scholten and explained that the Iowa House Representative from my district pitches for the Sioux City Explorers. They were completely enamored by the thought that you could be involved in government and play baseball. I had a student show me a page of a journal she was keeping of general terms and pleasantries in English. She was starting a journal for when she can finally visit Sioux City. I explained to her that I had made a journal in the same manner for my trip to Japan. It was so heart warming to experience that joy in a classroom on the other side of the world. It makes me proud to be a teacher and excited at the prospect of our collective future.”
Council Yamanashi City trip
From left, Sioux City Assistant City Attorney Steven Postolka, Sioux City Councilwoman Julie Schoenherr, Yamanashi City Mayor Haruo Takagi, Sioux City Councilman Matthew O’Kane and Sioux City Councilman Alex Watters are shown during an October trip to Yamanashi City Japan.
Is there anything that Yamanashi City has or does that you think could be implemented in Sioux City that would benefit residents?
“There is an immeasurable amount of lessons I learned from Yamanashi City. We’re facing a lot of the same challenges, as well. They have a good working partnership with the Prefecture and the National Government which helps them put solutions in place more easily. They have agricultural land strewn throughout the city offering a lot of green space. They’re very intentional with their planning. They reuse buildings and preserve their standing buildings quite well. We visited an old school that was repurposed as a Drone School and operating Facility. They’ve installed solar on unused rooftops to decrease their dependency on the grid. They use natural landscapes and runoff from the mountains to create intentional greenspaces and playgrounds. They have aggressive city wide recycling. Everything you buy is in a recyclable container and there is a recycling bin nearby. There is virtually no trash.”
How do you think Sioux City’s sister city relationship with Yamanashi City can grow and expand in the future?
“One of the things I’m working on is opening up cultural exchange between the schools. Yamanashi City has English and Sioux City history integrated into their curriculum. Their students are eager to visit America, especially Sioux City. That encourages global commerce and makes global citizens of our youth. Another thing Alex Watters and I discussed was opening trade between our cities. After returning to Sioux City, I’ve had conversations with different business owners to find out how we can bolster that partnership. We’re also looking into establishing more green spaces in Sioux City that honor that partnership. We would like to have some trees and plants for residents to enjoy, to bring a small piece of Yamanashi City to our city for everyone to enjoy and learn from. I think we’ll see a lot of great things coming from the Yamanashi City Sister City Committee in the coming years. If you would like to be a part of it, please apply.”
Yamanashi City and Sioux City celebrate 20-year sister city relationship
Leaders from Sioux City and Yamanashi City, Japan, celebrated the 20th anniversary of their sister city relationship Thursday and looked to continue that special alliance for another two decades.
Mayor of Gjilan, Kosovo, visits Sioux City, calls it a ‘role model’
The mayor of Gjilan, Kosovo, one of Sioux City’s sister cities, was in town Tuesday touring the Public Museum, Art Center, Police Department and Career Academy. The visit marked Alban Hyseni’s first trip to Sioux City, since he was elected mayor of Gjilan.
The incredible story of artist Paul Chelstad’s Japanese adventure and his display at a prestigious show
Sioux City artist Paul Chelstad may now check a half-dozen things off of his bucket list. He visited Japan for the first time and got a celebrity welcome into Sioux City’s Japanese Sister City where he broke bread with the Mayor Haruo Takagi.
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