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Editorial

First Baptist opens needed cooling, warming facility

Here in Iowa, we are no strangers to extreme temperatures. There are a lot of days in the summer when it is brutally hot and there are a lot of days in the winter when it is dangerously cold. Unfortunately, there are homeless people and others in our community who can’t escape these dangerous temperature extremes. The congregation of First Baptist Church in Fort Dodge is going to use a little SALT to help them. We’re not talking about the kind of salt found in the little shaker on the dining room table. In this case, SALT is an acronym that stands for Shine A Light Together. ...

Land donations are making new Iowa Central biofuels lab possible

Long before officials gripped ceremonial groundbreaking shovels and perhaps even before architects started designing Iowa Central Community College’s new biofuels testing lab, something happened that made it a true public-private partnership. Two private entities gave the college valuable land that would eventually become the site of the new lab. In 2011, Tom and Phyllis Cairney donated the site of the former Colonial Inn on A Street West to the college. Then last year, Casey’s General Stores donated some property where one of its stores once stood along A Street West, ...

Girls softball returns to Fort Dodge

One of summer’s most enjoyable events gets underway today. The Girls State Softball Tournament will be the highlight of the season for the teams that made it to state-level competition, including the Fort Dodge Dodgers and St. Edmond Gaels. All the teams are outstanding. Making it to this final event of the season means that none will have any reason for more than a brief lament, no matter what their final standing. Making it to state is itself an accomplishment that marks a season as one to remember with pride. This event has become a major feature of the summer sports season in our ...

Socks, shoes efforts meet a community need

It’s an automatic part of daily life for most people: when they get dressed, they put their socks on. Then they put their shoes on. Clean, dry socks make the feet feel good and shoes are just essential. Putting socks and shoes on is so routine many folks do it without even thinking about it. Unfortunately, there are kids in the Fort Dodge community who don’t get to put on a good pair of socks and shoes every day. Family financial problems mean that they can’t afford them. Two initiatives now underway that are worthy of broad support seek to help those kids and families. The ...

Teamwork makes another successful golf event

Another successful Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota Webster County tournament is in the books, with more than 120 players competing this past weekend under ideal weather conditions at both the Fort Dodge Country Club and Lakeside Municipal golf courses. This event, now 44 years strong and sponsored by The Messenger, is a true testament to the strong community ties shared by local partnerships every summer. Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota has been a proud tourney host for nearly 20 years now. Casey and Matt Johnson from the dealership understand the importance of serving the community in ...

Be sure to attend the Webster County Fair

Times change. Even so there are a few constants in life. One is the pleasure provided by the county fairs that continue to be a highlight of summer in the Hawkeye State. For as far back as anyone who now lives in this part of Iowa can remember, these summer festivals have been much-anticipated and much-enjoyed features of summertime. The fairs, of course, have changed over the decades. One central theme, however, remains much the same — a celebration of farm life and the assorted positive educational and personal-growth pursuits that are treasured features of life in rural and ...