Breaking News

Editorial

May is Beef Month in Iowa

As we enter the month of May, it is worth noting that it is a time to celebrate an important meat product. May is Beef Month. For many of us, every month is a time to partake of a food that ranks high on the list of culinary favorites. It’s no secret that Americans have a love affair with beef. That’s been true for generations and the demand for this tasty and healthy product is on the rise — up about 15 percent in the last decade. The passion for beef is widely shared. It is the beef industry’s vital role in the state’s economy, however, that warrants special ...

Cleanup efforts help keep city looking good

It’s spring cleaning time, and the cleaning isn’t limited to washing windows. On a recent afternoon, groups of people carrying garbage bags could be seen moving through fields on the east side of town, near some of the big stores . As they moved, they gradually filled those bags with every piece of litter they found. Those volunteers filled about 50 bags with trash. Another cleanup effort, targeting multiple areas of the town is scheduled for May 10. That will be the annual FOD Walk, which has been held in Fort Dodge for close to 20 years. The endeavor was started by Rhonda ...

PICA has major positive impact on Fort Dodge

The impact of a group of volunteers known as Pride In Community Appearance can be seen throughout Fort Dodge. Usually called PICA, the group makes the town look beautiful by taking care of flower beds and landscaping on public property. PICA members tend to flower beds in parks and around the welcome signs at the gateways to the community. They give the landscaping at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex a thorough grooming before the girls state softball tournament every summer. In perhaps the group’s biggest project, its members turned a stub of street off Martin Luther King ...

Today is Earth Day

The late 1960s were turbulent years in America. It was a time of rapid change when young protesters expressed disillusionment with many aspects of the world their elders had built. The divisions in society that emerged from those conflicts decades ago still haunt our society in the 21st century. Some of the emotional scars from those bitter disputes will influence American politics well into the future. There is, however, one legacy of those chaotic times that unites rather than divides us — Earth Day. The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. Today marks 53 years of Earth ...

Officials’ DC trip is worthwhile

Visiting Washington, D.C. is always a fascinating experience. The Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court building, the towering Washington Monument and even the cherry trees surrounding the Tidal Basin make the city a unique place. And within that place, history is made every day and has been since the original portion of the Capitol opened in about 1800. What happens in Washington affects Fort Dodge and Webster County. That’s why a group of local government leaders is in Washington right now. They traveled to the nation’s capital on Monday. They spent Tuesday meeting with ...

Is your family eligible?

For those area families who have a long, proud history of farming the land, it is not too early to think about the 2023 Century Farm and Heritage Farm awards. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is encouraging eligible farm owners to apply for the 2023 Century and Heritage Farm Program. The program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and recognizes families that have owned their farm for 100 years in the case of Century Farms and 150 years for Heritage Farms. It has been more than 187 years since land that is ...