News

Lunch on Central returns in June, July, and August

The annual Lunch on Central returns in 2026 on the last Friday of June, July and August. Hosted by Main Street Fort Dodge, board members, local volunteers and business sponsors team up to serve a delicious and affordable meal in the heart of downtown. The event is held in the parking lot in the 700 block of Central Avenue between The Messenger and the Webster County Courthouse. Meals are $8, with outdoor seating or takeout available. Desserts from a local nonprofit organization are available for purchase. The menu for the first lunch this Friday includes a pork burger or tenderloin, ...

Annual Fort Dodge Pride Festival returns to Central Avenue

By David Drissel The fifth annual Fort Dodge Pride Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on Central Avenue between 10th and 12th Streets in downtown Fort Dodge. This is the first time the event has occurred on Central Avenue since the inaugural Pride Festival of 2021. “By hosting the event in the heart of our downtown, we hope to support LGBTQ+ owned businesses and allies who stand with our community year-round while also shining a spotlight on the many local businesses that make our town unique,” Fort Dodge Pride Festival Board President Rhiannon Rippke-Koch ...

Heritage Days Parade highlights

Juneteenth celebrated with car show, basketball tournament Saturday

Adams named to dean’s list

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Ty Adams, of Fort Dodge, has made the dean’s list at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the spring 2026 semester. The term grade-point average requirement for the dean’s list is 3.75 out of a possible 4.0. To qualify, a student must have been enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits. There can be no individual grades below a “C” and no incomplete or non-reported grades.

Mud ’n’ stuff

LEHIGH — While the mud volleyball pit at the annual Lehigh River Days celebration got an upgrade this year with a rubber liner, the log rolling pit got a few visitors that were not planning on participating — tiny frogs and a pair of juvenile snakes. Brittany Halbur, of Lehigh, used a ...