Cheryl Fleming never expected to become ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. After all, it’s a fairly rare malady with only around 33,000 current cases in the United States. The 61-year-old former business owner, longtime Fort Dodge ...

A jury found a Webster County man guilty of second-degree murder Friday. Rolman Humberto Recinos Gonzales, 39, was charged with first-degree murder in the 2025 Labor Day weekend death of 45-year-old Justo Cruz Calindo at the apartment the two shared in the 500 block of North 28th ...

Former state Rep. Brad Sherman says he was the first candidate to enter the race for the 2026 Republican nomination for Iowa governor. “I wasn’t looking for another career,” he said during a visit to Fort Dodge Friday. He said he and his wife, Carole, prayed about his possible run ...

A van slammed into a Fort Dodge house Friday afternoon, shifting one side of the structure and causing significant damage. The driver was taken to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center. Fire Department Capt. Steve Teske said it appeared that he had suffered some kind of ...

bshea@messengernews.net Fort Dodge, originally called Fort Clark, had been in existence since 1850. But the northern area of Iowa it was intended to secure was peaceful, and soldiers were needed elsewhere. So in 1853, the Army closed the fort, and its troops, members of Co. E, 6th U.S. ...

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of 12 weekly stories focusing on America’s 250th birthday, as told through the lens of our communities and the role many of the places we call home played in shaping the nation before, during and after the Revolutionary War. This week we ...