To the editor: I read in The Messenger paper that the Shellabration concert is being canceled this year. Why? Be creative. Why not go local and statewide and ask local bands or statewide bands to come and play? Give them some notoriety. Make it a weekend concert like they do in Des Moines, only have it be smaller bands that come and play their music. Make it an Iowa concert. Gloria Myers Fort Dodge
This past year, we celebrated 130 years of being our community’s trusted health partner. With stories and insights of our legacy from those who came before us, we are inspired and reminded of the legacy we’re continuing to build in Fort Dodge. As we look to a new year, I am proud to share some of our key achievements from 2024. Introducing new services One of our highest priorities in 2024 was keeping cardiology care local. We are committed to ensuring patients can receive these critical services close to home. We opened UnityPoint Health – Trinity Heart Center in October ...
Interaction between citizens and the officials they elect to represent them is crucial to a democracy. Citizens must be able to tell the officials what they want and what they don’t want. They must also be able to hold the officials accountable for their actions. The elected officials must explain to the citizens why they take the actions they do. In Fort Dodge there has been an event in place for at least 25 years that brings state, and sometimes federal, legislators together with citizens. It’s called Eggs and Issues. Eggs and Issues is a forum that is held once a month ...
With the first floor debate of the year, the Senate passed our K-12 education funding proposal. Senate File 167 is a $235 million increase for K-12 education in Iowa. When combined with last year’s budgeted amount for education, Iowa’s total amount in state aid for schools will come to $4.2 billion. That amount is almost half of Iowa’s roughly $9 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Senate Republicans remain committed to responsible budgeting, and we believe this $235 million increase for education is a sustainable amount Iowa schools can depend on. We have heard time and ...
FFA was established in 1928 as Future Farmers of America. It was renamed the National FFA Organization in 1988 to reflect the rapid changes and greater employment diversity in agriculture. To most of us, it is known simply as FFA. After more than eight decades, FFA continues to enrich the lives of students by helping them develop their potential for leadership, personal growth and career success through agriculture education. The FFA motto captures the spirit of the organization succinctly: “Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve.” Those 12 words help ...
To the editor: That was an excellent editorial by Jeff Robbins in the Feb. 12 edition of The Messenger. Donald Trump and Elon Musk shredding USAID will do damage to this country’s reputation with other countries that may never be reestablished. The budget for USAID is less than 1 percent of our country’s budget. Donald Trump said the USAID was giving Gaza $50 million to buy condoms and if that wasn’t farfetched enough, he upped that number to $100 million a couple days later. When will this country ever learn that Donald Trump is a liar? A company was established during his ...