New park building honors park benefactor

July 27, 2022

To say that the late Donna Monkelien liked Oleson Park would be putting it mildly. Her name and her love of the sprawling park on the south side of Fort Dodge will be remembered for decades to come thanks to the newly opened shelter in the park which is named after her. A $183,412.93 gift she left the city in her will specifically to support the park made its construction possible. Monkelien and her husband, Richard, lived across the street from the park. They could see the park’s historic bandshell from their living room. The Monkeliens had a front row seat for all the sights and ...

Iowa’s fruit and vegetable growers deserve recognition

July 25, 2022

There’s more than corn and soybeans growing in Iowa’s rich soil. Iowa’s farmers grow staggering amounts of corn and soybeans, so it makes sense that those crops are the first ones many people associate with the state’s farms. But there is also a surprising amount of fruits and vegetables grown in Iowa. To recognize that fact, Gov. Kim Reynolds has proclaimed this week as Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Week. The proclamation states, in part, that “local Iowa fruit and vegetable producers receive support and recognition for their achievements by celebrating this week across ...

Work of many made for softball tournament success

July 23, 2022

The 2022 Girls State Softball Tournament did not end the way the Fort Dodge Dodgers and their fans had hoped that it would, but it still showcased our community and its outstanding sports complex. The fact that Fort Dodge has hosted the tournament for more than 50 years is a tribute to the work and the partnerships created by essentially a generation’s worth of local leaders. These are leaders that have seen the value in both having a world class facility in Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex, and maintaining a close relationship with the Iowa High School Girls Athletic ...

School garden will produce lots of benefits

July 21, 2022

The Manson Northwest Webster Community School District schools are obviously closed in mid-July, but there is an outdoor learning area in use that will continue to have an impact when classes resume in the fall. It consists of raised planting beds built by students in the district’s ag construction class. High school students Brody Poppen, Reece Olson, and Jeremy Bailey then helped fill the beds with soil. Fifth grade math teacher Amy Brown along with Jodi Jacobsen and Heather Wittrock, planned the effort. Elementary students Brody Bush, Brooklynn Dornath, Kathleen Hildreth, Bella ...

New trail segment promises safety, connectivity

July 20, 2022

People who like to walk, run or ride their bicycle in the northeastern part of Fort Dodge will have a new safer location for doing all that. That new option will be a 10-foot wide paved trail on the east side of North 22nd Street between roughly the 1600 block and the 2500 block. This will be a great addition to the already well-developed trail system for two reasons: safety and connectivity. Safety is perhaps the most compelling reason for building this trail link. This link will get people out of the road in an area with no sidewalks. North 22nd Street is about 40-feet wide up ...

Girls softball returns to Fort Dodge

July 18, 2022

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. 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 town. Fort Dodge has ...