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Flu shots provide potentially lifesaving protection

Just about everyone has called in sick at some point, saying they had the flu when they were sniffling, sneezing, maybe running a fever and generally feeling lousy. Those symptoms definitely add up to an illness, but the problem is not really the flu. Influenza, as it is properly known, is much, much worse. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, influenza is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. Influenza and pneumonia are among the top 10 causes of death in the state. Fortunately, there is a way to prevent influenza. A yearly vaccine can protect a person ...

Innovative child care program is model for Iowa

It may not seem likely, but child care is a key driver of economic development. Now, that statement may leave some folks scratching their heads. How can providing a safe space for little ones help to power economic growth? Well, here’s how it works. Businesses obviously need workers if they are to thrive and grow. But lots of people, especially women, need a place for their kids to go while they are at work. Providing more child care opportunities gives those people the opportunity to get out into the workforce. They earn a living and businesses get the workforce they need. For ...

The Christmas spirit of giving should continue throughout the year

Every year around the holidays, the generosity of people who live in and around Fort Dodge blossoms. The familiar red kettles of The Salvation Army get filled with change by people going in and out of stores. Donations flow for initiatives like Bikes for Tykes. Those are some of the best-known helping campaigns in the Fort Dodge area that ramp up at Christmas time, and we know there are a lot of others out there as well. The holiday season is now over. Several charitable programs have gone dormant until next Christmas. But the need is still there. Hunger, sickness, poverty and ...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2024

Soon, we will welcome in a new year. Tomorrow, no doubt many readers will stay home, joining the ranks of those sitting on the couch, counting down the final moments of 2023 while participating vicariously in the festivities broadcast from Times Square in New York City. Others will celebrate the passing of another year by making merry until the wee hours of the new year. And yet others will let the new year come in just as they let each new day, week or month arrive – snugly tucked into bed getting some sleep. There is no right or wrong way to mark the arrival of another year. ...

Enjoy a festive holiday season

It is that time of year when holiday parties pile up one after the other over the course of a few days – and many of them are held after dark and feature alcoholic beverages. Everyone wants to get to and from all these gatherings safely. No one wants to be added to the grim table of statistics compiled by the Iowa Department of Transportation which records all of the deaths resulting from traffic accidents. As of last Friday, 364 people were killed in traffic crashes in Iowa during 2023, according to the department’s statistics. That is an increase of 9.64 percent from last ...

Silent night, holy night …

All across the nation, a feeling of anticipation is in the air. It is almost Christmas Eve, a time when those whose jobs do not demand that they be at work complete preparations for Christmas, the biggest day on most of our calendars. Once the packages are all wrapped, the last decorations are adjusted on Christmas trees, cookies are taken out of the oven and, perhaps, a turkey begins cooking, a time of peace descends upon many of us. Weary from the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we relax for a few moments. Many of us go to evening church services, where “Joy to the World” ...