Three years ago when brothers Todd and Nate McCubbin looked out the front window of their newly opened brewery on Central Avenue near City Square Park, they saw a very different picture of main street in Fort Dodge. “We have been looking out this window for over three years,” said ...
Jen Sorenson has come a long way since her roots on a contract grower farm in Lee County near Donnellson. Sorenson, communications director for Iowa Select Farms and vice president of the National Pork Producers Council, grew up on a livestock farm raising pigs and cattle where her parents ...
MANSON — Luke and Lori Thoma have found a new home for their ever expanding business — Thoma Construction and Flooring. The Manson couple, married for 20 years, moved to a space in downtown Manson, 630 Main Street, during the summer. “Everything was based out of our home,” Luke ...
By DARCY DOUGERTY MAULSBY yettergirl@yahoo.com DES MOINES — From the time he was three years old, Andrew Lauver was not only “farming the carpet” in his family’s home with his toy tractors; he was getting a glimpse of his future. “I only wanted to be one thing—a farmer just ...
SPENCER—Scouts on the Pro-Farmer Midwest Crop tour estimate an average to above-average corn crop for parts of western Iowa following their tour Aug. 19-23. “The next five weeks are going to be unbelievably critical for this crop,” said Chip Flory, editor emeritus and director of the ...
Erica Grell understands that some people might be surprised to see that she owns a roofing company. “It can be a little complicated sometimes,” Grell said from the office of Grell Roofing, 2125 Lainson Ave. “People see me in a male dominated field and judge and maybe assume I don’t ...
RODMAN — Many will never understand the relationship between a farmer and his land. The sweat, blood, and hard work a farmer and his family put into making a living off the land and passing a legacy on from generation to generation. Five generations have lived and worked on the farm. ...
DES MOINES — Nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair, where larger-than-life attractions capture fairgoers’ imagination. The enchantment extended to the Youth Inn this year, where fairgoers could watch a new documentary film recalling how a 520-acre “card” planted in a northern Iowa ...
Just inside the door at I a Shoppe in downtown Fort Dodge is an antique telephone that was made in Fort Dodge by Monarch Telephone MFG Co. Further into the building are other items made in Iowa, ranging from flower arrangements and jewelry to candles and jams. It’s all part of Laura ...
STORM LAKE — The Lenhart family’s farm continues to add more generations to occupy the land, 108 years after it was purchased. It all started on March 2, 1911 when Frank and Sarah Lenhart purchased 160 acres near Storm Lake. The current owners of the farm, Pat Lenhart and his brother ...
Hopes for a more positive World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report from the USDA were crushed on Monday when the planted corn acres estimate wasn’t lowered to expectation. “This has been a long awaited report from USDA ever since the acreage estimate for corn at 91.7 ...
Chris Staley, of Webster City, has always had a love for design. “I have been doing something in the art field my whole life,” Staley said. “I have been drawing since I could pick up a pencil.” He added, “I literally took every art class available through school.” And ...
The Messenger has donated $5,000 to the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. The money came from proceeds of the All About Greater Fort Dodge publication sales. All About Greater Fort Dodge features information on businesses, industry, housing, schools, health care and other elements of the ...
LAKE CITY — It probably seemed like more of a nuisance than a serious threat when Charles Acklin scratched his skin on barbed wire one day early in 1927. But after this Lake City-area farmer contracted a tetanus infection from his injury and passed away at age 44 on March 18, 1927, nothing ...
Whether you are a landowner looking to rent your ground or a farmer looking to expand your operation, the land leasing process could get a little easier with help from a new company that has recently expanded its services into Iowa. Started in 2017, Tillable is an online marketplace that ...
Helping customers find shoes that fit perfectly and meet their unique requirements has been the mission of Brown’s Shoe Fit, 210 S. 25th St, since the enterprise opened for business locally in July 1996. Craig Jarrard, the Fort Dodge store’s owner-manager, said being focused ...
AUBURN — More than 40 years ago, Jeff Frank faced one of the most pivotal decisions of his life. This 1977 Lake View-Auburn High School graduate had an extraordinary opportunity to play college basketball, but there was something else — something big—influencing his choice. ...
ELLSWORTH — “This is just like a feedlot underwater,” said Paul Skartvedt, as he gestured toward rows of huge fish tanks that are inside a new aquaculture facility on the edge of Ellsworth near Interstate 35. What looks like a long row of greenhouses is four acres under roof. The two ...
Over the past several years, the emerald ash borer has been wreaking havoc among ash trees in not only Fort Dodge, but across the state of Iowa. An invasive pest originally from Asia, the emerald ash borer burrows into ash trees, where it can eventually lead to the tree’s death. But ...
HUMBOLDT — When the history of a farm is being discussed, it doesn’t take very long before the discussion will shift to family history as the history of farms and families are very much entwined. The history is usually recollections of distant memories. Ron Collins farms the land owned ...