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Editorial

Merz was champion for FDCSD students, families

For 22 years, Jan Merz was a staunch advocate for the students of the Fort Dodge Community School District. Merz, who died Aug. 6 at age 76, was a member of the district’s Board of Education from 1991 to 2013. Serving on a school board involves much, much more than going to a couple meetings a month and voting on some agenda items. To govern a school district, a board member must become familiar with everything from reading curriculum to roofing materials. Doing all that was a challenge that Merz eagerly embraced. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of students by ...

Dayton Rodeo fun has started

The roping and riding that make up the 2024 edition of the Dayton Labor Day Rodeo are underway. The small Webster County city will be packed with rodeo fans all weekend. What began more than eight decades ago as the dream of three young cowboys – Allen Porter, Duane Vegors and Vern Danielson – has grown to a four-day event that draws contestants and spectators not only from all parts of Iowa, but also from throughout the nation. This annual event attracts 10,000 to 12,000 rodeo fans, many of whom journey every year to Webster County for this nationally recognized event. For a few ...

Families get a financial assist from FDCSD

Any parent can confirm that sending a child off to school, even a tax-supported public school, can get expensive. First, there are all the things that must be bought at the start of every school year: shoes, clothes and supplies like paper, pencils and scissors. Once the school year gets underway, there is the cost of breakfasts and lunches. And at some point in the year, the supply of pencils, paper and other necessities will have to be replenished. For families with multiple children in school, all of this can add up to big expenses quickly. That is why something the Fort Dodge ...

Latest quality-of-life investments are necessary

Serving a ball over a pickleball net and soaring through a quarter pipe on a skateboard are about as different as two recreational pasttimes can be. Now, people are able to do both of those things at new facilities in Fort Dodge. A new skate park that is three times the size of the city’s Dean Hearn Skateboard Park is north of the former Sunkissed Meadows Golf Course on the riverfront. This park was designed based on input from local skaters. And it is not limited to skateboards. If something has wheels, but no motor, it is welcome at the park. That means scooters, roller skates ...

Schools are starting – drive safely

Even though the calendar shows another month of summer to be enjoyed, for students and teachers, vacation days are ending. All across our area, they are heading back to school. Classes at St. Edmond Catholic School and the Manson Northwest Webster and Southeast Valley school districts began Friday. The fall semester at Iowa Central Community College begins Monday. And Wednesday is the first day of classes in the Fort Dodge Community School District. The first day of classes means a new school year full of learning, activities and opportunities is beginning. It also means that ...

A new Backpack Buddies program is needed in Fort Dodge

For 14 years, thousands of local kids relied on a unique program to keep their tummies full with good food on the weekends throughout the school year. Each Friday they picked up a backpack, or in more recent years, a bag, filled with nutritious food. That food was courtesy of a program called Backpack Buddies and it was vital for them because of their families’ economic situations. They relied on school breakfasts and lunches during the week for nutritious meals. But the weekends were another story. On Saturdays and Sundays, they may not have gotten much to eat at all and what they ...