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Dodger delight

FD couple enjoys Dodger-themed patio

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Laurie Wagner, left, and husband Rick Wagner, pose at the bar of the Dodge Lodge recently. The couple channeled their Dodger spirit over the summer and built a gathering space outside of their Fort Dodge for family and friends to enjoy.

Rick and Laurie Wagner’s back patio is a welcome sight for any Fort Dodge Dodger fan.

The space, located not far from historic Dodger Stadium, features black and red chairs, a Dodger lamp and even a large metal sign with the words “Dodge Lodge” imprinted on it. The sign, which hangs above the bar, was made by Andy Kavanaugh, a Fort Dodge Senior High industrial arts teacher. A silhouette of a dancer can be seen on the left side of that sign. It represents the Wagners’ daughter, Olivia Wagner, 14, an eighth-grader at Fort Dodge Middle School. She is involved in competitive dance at United All-Stars.

The football on the right side represents the Wagners’ son, Jake Wagner, 18, a senior at FDSH, who played football. He’s also been involved in baseball and track.

Laurie Wagner has bled Dodger red for a long time.

“All my life,” she said. “My parents were high school sweethearts and graduated from Fort Dodge. All my siblings went to Fort Dodge. My brothers played football.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Laurie Wagner, of Fort Dodge, poses with a framed picture of her father, the late Jerry Kiliper, a 1945 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, at the Dodge Lodge.

Another item on display in the Dodge Lodge is a framed picture of Laurie Wagner’s father, the late Jerry Kiliper, who graduated FDSH in 1945. He is shown wearing a leather football helmet. Her mother, Mary Kiliper, gifted a Dodger pin which she had held onto since the 1980s along with an old Dodger glass bottle.

“She keeps everything,” Laurie Wagner said of her mother.

Rick Wagner, a native of Webster City, has embraced the Dodger way of life.

“My first job out of college was here in Fort Dodge and have always had a connection,” Rick Wagner said.

Dodgers are resilient, he said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
The 2021 Dodger football team signed this piece that now has a home at the Dodge Lodge.

“There’s tough times, but we get through em’,” Rick Wagner said. “Hormel, IBP, everyone thought they would shut the town down and now we are prospering again.”

The couple’s home has long been a gathering place for friends and neighbors. But over the summer they decided to deck it out in Dodger red and black.

“We had all these pallets that were given to us, we were going to use them for something else,” Laurie Wagner said. “But we had this little area out here, with all these lights to make it cozy and had friends coming over.”

So the couple built a bar with the pallets and used a lot of other recycled material.

“It took us about two weeks,” Rick Wagner said. “We worked on it every night. Then she bought the lights and shelves.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Andy Kavanaugh, industrial technology instructor at Fort Dodge Senior High, crafted this piece for the Dodge Lodge. The dance figure on the left represents the Wagners' daughter, Olivia, 14, who is involved in competitive dance. The football on the right represents the Wagners' son, Jake, 18, who played football.

The couple, married for 22 years, said they friends and neighbors were helpful throughout the project.

For almost 10 years, the couple has hosted the Dodger football team for a chili homecoming party.

“About four or five year ago we decided to make it a little contest to see who had the best chili,” Rick Wagner said.

He said Tom Hiveley has seen a lot of success in the chili contest in recent years.

“He bought a traveling trophy,” Rick Wagner said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
This Dodger pin was a gift from Laurie Wagner's mother, Marilyn Kiliper. Wagner said her mother has had it since the 1980s. It too has a place at the Dodge Lodge.

The most recent party was that much sweeter with the new digs.

“The grand opening was for the chili homecoming,” Rick Wagner said. “We had quite a few people here for homecoming, probably 50 or 60. And we had the team over for a meal the last game of the regular season.”

The couple said the team was very respectful and appreciated them hosting the meals.

“The boys were excellent,” Rick Wagner said. “They all came up and thanked us.”

“Every meal we had they were so thankful,” Laurie Wagner added.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Laurie and Rick Wagner, of Fort Dodge, are all smiles at the Dodge Lodge, a gathering place that pays tribute to the Fort Dodge Dodgers.

The neighbors seem to enjoy the ambiance of the Dodge Lodge, too. So much so that the Wagners purchased a lighted “open” sign.

The couple does not actually sell any items. The patio is for private use only.

“Neighbors and friends call and will see the lights on,” Rick Wagner said. “We got back one weekend from out of town and when we turned the lights on we got a call from a neighbor asking if the bar was open. I said, ‘I guess it is.'”

“If we dare turn our lights on in the bar, they think it’s open,” Laurie Wagner added.

In terms of Dodger activities, the two jump at the chance to see their children compete.

“Whenever Jake played baseball,” Rick Wagner said. “Didn’t matter how bad of a week you had, there’s nothing like going and seeing your boy play.”

Laurie Wagner said they try not to miss any moments.

“I’ve driven just to watch him throw the shot put or whatever in Des Moines,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to see him graduate.”

The Dodge Lodge serves as a gathering place to unwind after Dodger events.

“We really enjoy it,” Rick Wagner said.

“Once you’re a Dodger, you’re always a Dodger,” Laurie Wagner said. “Fort Dodge has that bond.”

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