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Urges yes vote on EMS levy

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Fort Dodge and Webster County need to assure all families have immediate emergency medical services as an essential service when someone has a heart attack or terrible car accident on a rural county gravel road. That is why I am voting yes on March 4. The Messenger has done several excellent stories explaining why we need to support this measure. One example is Paul Johnson from the Gowrie area who had a heart attack and if not for the response of many on the way to Unity Point Hospital, he would not be living today. Nobody should not have access within reasonable ...

Kersten is deserving choice for Catalyst Award

Editorial

It is likely that no one has been as successful as Jim Kersten at approaching state and federal decision makers to secure their support for things that will benefit Fort Dodge, Webster County and Iowa Central Community College. For some, lobbying has a kind of negative connotation. But the reality is, in order to get help for a project or a program, someone has to make a case to the people who can provide the money or other assistance. When it comes to doing that skillfully and consistently, Kersten has no match. And he is motivated simply by his love for his hometown. The Greater ...

Lessons learned from sports impact Randy Kuhlman’s career

Local Columns

For nearly four decades, Randy Kuhlman has been known and admired by many for his tireless and passionate work on behalf of the Fort Dodge community. But there are some things even his closest friends may not know about Kuhlman, CEO of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and the United ...

Sexton provides update, seeks input

Local Columns

The House Agriculture Committee passed House Study Bill 131 (Grain Indemnity Bill) by a bipartisan vote of 21-1. HSB 131 makes several modernizing changes to the state grain indemnity program which is now nearing four-decades old. Since the 1980s, when this program was created, Iowa production of grain has nearly doubled as have grain prices. Additionally, the rise of special grain sales such as for organic grain has created unforeseen risks in the program which in part precipitated the reinstatement of indemnity fees in 2023 when the Indemnity fund was drawn down by the bankruptcy of ...

Bills address variety of health care issues

Local Columns

Last Thursday I managed HF 313, a bill that relates to testimony at an involuntary commitment hearing for substance abuse disorder or serious mental impairment. This bill allows for an advanced registered nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant to testify at these hearings if they have witnessed the examination, reviewed the report, and the professional that had originally examined the individual is unable to attend the hearing. This bill came to us from county attorneys. Some professionals that had examined the patient initially would not show up for the hearing, in which case ...

District tour highlights need for Farm Bill

Local Columns

Since I was first elected, I have traveled to every county in Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District at least twice a year as part of my 36 County Tour. It’s a commitment that I made to my constituents that I would be transparent and accessible, offering meaningful solutions to the problems facing our rural communities, state, and nation. Since beginning my 36 County Tour, I have visited Calhoun County nine times. Some of my recent trips include a town hall at Double D’s Ice Cream in Manson and a great tour at the Stewart Memorial Community Hospital — which is one of very few ...