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Have a safe Super Bowl Sunday

The sporting event that will take place Sunday evening has essentially no equal. Sure, there are the Olympics, the World Series, the Stanley Cup finals and the NBA championships. The excitement of those events are all spread over a number of days. Sunday’s Super Bowl, however, will pack all the excitement into a few intense hours. The upcoming clash of the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers will be more than a sporting event. Locally, people will be watching Iowa State graduate Brock Purdy lead the 49ers. And all over the country there will be ...

MEGA proposal offers potential benefits for FD area

In the effort to get new jobs and growth in a community the reality is that some kind of incentives must be offered. Not offering incentives would be the equivalent of disarming yourself in a battle. With that in mind, Iowa’s lawmakers are working on a new package of incentives designed to attract very large investments to the state. And by very large we mean projects worth $1 billion or more. This proposed incentive package may seem like just another of the hundreds of bills that pass through the state Capitol every year without apparently having any impact on most local folks. It ...

It’s time to honor a local leader

Do you know anyone who has worked hard, perhaps out of the public view, to make Fort Dodge and Webster County a better place to live, work and play? If so, a unique opportunity to honor them is at hand. The Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance is seeking nominees for its Catalyst Award. Nominees should meet these basic criteria: • Have a history of active involvement in the Growth Alliance. • Have shown that they are an active and visionary leader who is a catalyst for action in economic and community development. • Have demonstrated excellence in their profession or ...

Talking while driving a hazard to all

It’s an all too common sight on Iowa roads: a driver with a phone pressed to their ear, chatting away while their vehicle weaves in and out of its lane. Such action could be the beginning of a crash and, in a worst case scenario, a tragedy. Just how bad is this kind of distracted driving situation? The Iowa Department of Transportation released preliminary numbers for 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available, that answer that question. According to those statistics, there were 1,033 crashes in Iowa that year caused by people distracted by an electronic ...

Corn still fuels Iowa’s economy

Corn production has been a key factor in the Iowa economy for more than 150 years. The state’s 21st-century economy is characterized by increasing diversity. Agriculture, however, remains a powerhouse. There can be little doubt that corn remains of critical importance. The renewable fuels industries have increased demand for corn as a critical ingredient in manufacturing ethanol. Ethanol production has not only increased demand for corn, but also strengthened corn’s already enormous importance to Iowa’s prosperity. Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, with 52 percent of ...

Catholic schools serve area well

There has been a Catholic school system in Fort Dodge for almost as long as this town has been in existence. There are other towns in the area The Messenger serves that can make similar claims. Catholic education got underway in Fort Dodge more than 160 years ago. The first Catholic school came into being during the dark days of the U.S. Civil War. While many Iowans were serving their country in the Union Army, Corpus Christi Parish — in 1862 — put the finishing touches on its first school building. It would be easy to recite the landmark events in Catholic education in Fort ...