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Radon is silent menace in Iowa

Editorial

Over the years, Hollywood has cranked out lots of scary movies featuring something awful lurking in the basement of an unsuspecting person’s home. In the real world of Iowa, there just may be something awful lurking in the basements of people’s homes. And unlike the ghosts and monsters of the movies, this unwelcome presence can’t be seen. We are speaking of radon. It is a gas that is invisible. It has no odor. And it can cause cancer. There are ways to check for it. If it is detected, there are ways to reduce and even eliminate its presence. We encourage people to have ...

Animals need our help

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: When people need assistance, they yell, help! When an animal needs assistance, they wait and wait and wait for that one person to save them. Atlas was starving to death; freezing to death and yearning for someone, anyone to just see him..to see him and not turn away....but, no one came. I don't know what was on the minds of the neighbors who apparently made numerous calls to law enforcement informing them of the poor condition of a neighbor’s dog, Atlas. I don't know what was on the minds of law enforcement or the persons involved with animal control when they ...

Honored to serve, focused on Fort Dodge’s future

Local Columns

As I begin my fourth month serving as mayor of Fort Dodge, I want to begin with a simple but heartfelt thank you. I am deeply grateful to the citizens of our community for the trust you’ve placed in me to lead. It is truly an honor, and I will do my best to make our city and region a better place to live, work and recreate. I would also like to recognize two individuals who helped shape this community, former Mayor Terry Lutz and former Mayor Matt Bemrich. Having served alongside Mayor Lutz for two years and Mayor Bemrich for 16 years, I witnessed firsthand their dedication to Fort ...

Speed limit increase is a bad idea

Editorial

Iowa’s lawmakers appear to be on the verge of raising the speed limit on the state’s two-lane highways. We think it’s a terrible idea and call on them to reject it. The bill now before the legislature would establish the default speed limit at 60 mph rather than the current 55 mph. But because four-lane highways have an established speed limit of 65 mph and highways that are part of the interstate system have a 70 mph speed limit, the impact of this bill would be realized on the two-lane routes like U.S. Highway 169. We see lots of bad things coming from this concept, and ...

Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is vital

Editorial

The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is built on this principle: everyone should get quality health care regardless of what kind of insurance they have or how much money they have in the bank. That’s a concept that seems so basic that no one should have to think about it. But in reality, it takes hard work and dedication to reach that ideal. In Fort Dodge and the surrounding area, we are fortunate to have a Community Health Center that cares for everyone, regardless of their insurance or financial status. Health center leaders repeatedly say that the facility is there for ...

Jerry Fitzgerald’s life a study in resilience, determination

Local Columns

Despite the passage of seven decades, Jerry Fitzgerald remembers the scene as if it were yesterday. He was 13-years-old, an eighth grader at Corpus Christi School, and the scene was a tiny second-floor apartment above Anvers restaurant in downtown Fort Dodge where he lived with his dad ...