The Friends of Library’s Brown Bag Briefings are scheduled for the first three Thursdays in October.

The Briefings are held in the conference room at the Ft.Dodge Library, beginning at noon and ending at 1 p.m. Complimentary coffee, water and cookies are available. Attendees may bring their lunch. These events are free and open to the public.

• Webster County Sheriff Luke Fleener will head the first presentation, on Thursday.

Fleener will discuss the proposal for a new Webster County Jail among other topics.

Fleener is trained in rapid response to active shooters, tactical team movement, hostage negotiations, and crime scene investigation just to name a few of his responsibilities. Over the past 13 years he has trained over 5,000 officers across the nation. Locally, he conducts safety training sessions for businesses, schools, and churches to prepare for handling active shooter situations. He has been in law enforcement for 32 years and was elected Webster County Sheriff in 2020.

• Jerry Yocum will talk about the Camp Algona POW Museum on Oct. 13.

A former high school and community college teacher, Jerry joined a group in 2001 that was beginning to create a museum dedicated to telling the story about the German prisoners of war that were housed at Camp Algona from April of 1944 to February of 1946. This museum eventually opened in 2004 and averages over 2000 visitors every year. Attendees will find out where the prisoners came from and the type of work they did across a four state area.

• Photographer Justin Rogers will talk about photography on Oct. 20.

Rogers is a native Fort Dodger and will be sharing his passion for photography. Photography began as a hobby for Justin in 2013 and quickly turned into a second career, he is also self-employed as a web developer. Most of his works consist of rural Iowa landscapes or Des Moines cityscapes. However, given the right time of year, you can also find him photographing wildlife. Rogers also enjoys leading or assisting in the teaching of local photography workshops. His flexible schedule allows him to depart at a moment’s notice if a photographic opportunity presents itself.