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Editorial

Jimmerson was truly the leader of the band

It seemed like he was always there. When the Karl King Municipal Band began its summer season by playing at the Memorial Day observance, Jerrold Jimmerson picked up his baton and led his musicians in playing patriotic favorites. Throughout the summer concerts, he conducted the band and did all kinds of behind the scenes work to make for successful, enjoyable shows. The same was true for the indoor winter concerts. Jimmerson was a fixture in the community. Indeed, many Fort Dodge music lovers can’t remember any other conductor of the band. After 21 years as conductor and 65 ...

Patience will pay off at Corridor Plaza

The steel framework of what will be a sports pavilion at Corridor Plaza seems to get bigger every day. On the opposite side of the property that used to be Crossroads Mall, a fence has gone up around the area where a Chick-fil-A restaurant will be built. Earthmovers are rumbling around another section of the complex, while workers go in and out of the old Younkers wing of the mall that is being converted into a row of stores that will include Dunham’s Sporting Goods, Maurice’s and Shoe Sensation. It seems like suddenly there is a whole lot of activity at Corridor Plaza. It is ...

Innovative plan seeks to increase heat on drug dealers

Illegal drugs can be found at the root of nearly every crime, ranging from a broken window to a homicide. Here’s how Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener describes it: “Our crime rate is driven by the influx and availability of illegal narcotics in our community.” What if something could be done to make life miserable for the drug dealers at the heart of all these problems without costing the local taxpayers any more money? An innovative plan put together by county leaders and the Fort Dodge Community Foundation aims to do just that. The plan would pool funding from the ...

Iowa Sales Tax Holiday starts Friday

Area families are already beginning to think about the items that will be needed to send young folks back to school properly equipped and looking good. According to the National Retail Federation, families with children in school will spend about $38.8 billion nationwide on back-to-school clothing and supplies. Surveys by the federation have shown that clothing and shoes account for about half of a family’s back-to-school spending. Finding bargains is part of the fun of back-to-school shopping every year. Clothing and shoes are among the necessities that will be on just about ...

Shellabration Inc. is an asset to Fort Dodge

Jim Reed, Ted Bodensteiner, Craig Schlienz and all the other volunteers who make up Shellabration Inc. have pulled off another musical masterpiece. On Friday night, thousands of people crammed into the intersection of Central Avenue and Ninth Street for this year’s Shellabration concert. They were treated to rousing performances by the Tank Anthony Band, The Babys and headliner Rick Springfield. Hundreds of local volunteers worked behind the scenes for months to make the show possible, then shifted into really high gear the day before the concert to get everything set up. Then the ...

Work of many made for softball tournament success

The 2024 Girls State Softball Tournament did not end exactly the way both the Fort Dodge Dodgers and St. Edmond Gaels and their fans had hoped it would, but it still showcased our community and its outstanding sports complex. The fact that Fort Dodge has hosted the tournament for more than 50 years is a tribute to the work and the partnerships created by essentially a generation’s worth of local leaders. These are leaders who have seen the value in both having a world class facility in Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, and maintaining a close relationship with the Iowa High ...