Sibley had its start in the year 1872 by the construction of the Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad through that territory.

In March 2018, the city of Sibley lost a lawsuit brought against it by the ACLU.

The city of Sibley threatened to sue him and instructed him not to speak to the media about the issue.

The ACLU successfully argued that this violated Harms' First Amendment rights to free speech.

[8] An injunction was granted, preventing Sibley's officials from "directing Harms not to speak with reporters, threatening to bring a lawsuit, or actually bringing a lawsuit against" Harms.

[9] In September 2018, the city of Sibley was featured in an Esquire article by Ryan Lizza on dairy farms in the region that employ undocumented immigrants.

[10] Dairy farmers and their workers expressed concern that they might be raided by ICE.

"[10] Lizza's reporting received national attention and has been discussed in regional and national news outlets such as Mother Jones,[11] The Des Moines Register,[12] The Washington Post,[13] The Daily Beast,[14] Bloomberg,[15] and Salon.

[17] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.68 square miles (4.35 km2), all land.

33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 95.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

[26] The Union Pacific Worthington Subdivision passes through Sibley en route from the Minneapolis area to Sioux City.

[28] On May 16, 2021, 47 train cars carrying asphalt, hydrochloric acid, and potassium hydroxide derailed and caught fire in Sibley, leading to the evacuation of about 80 people.