Bemrich received the club’s Citizen of the Year Award Friday evening during a dinner at the Lions Den in Armstrong Park.

”I think all of us can agree that Fort Dodge is moving ahead,” said Mike Mulroney, the chairman of the club’s committee that annually selects the Citizen of the Year honoree. ”I think Mayor Bemrich is a big part of that.”

Mulroney said that ”there seems to be a new excitement, a new encouragement for the citizens.”

He got a few laughs when he said, ”The town is looking better. We’re even getting streets paved.”

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich snaps a quick phone picture of his Citizen of the Year award from the Fort Dodge Noon Lions Club Friday evening. Bemrich was recognized for his leadership and support of Fort Dodge’s economic growth and progress.

Bemrich said he was very honored by the award.

”It’s very humbling to get an award for outstanding citizen,” he added.

”You get into these kinds of things in public service hoping that you’ll leave things better than how you found them,” Bemrich said. ”Fort Dodge is a very special place to me.”

He said the success of the city government is not due to him alone. The City Council and the city staff are vital to that success, he said.

Bemrich won his third term as mayor in the 2017 election. With nine years in the position, he is on track to become one of the city’s longest serving mayors in recent history. Albert Habhab, who later became chief judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals, was the longest serving mayor. He held the office for 14 years from 1960 to 1974.

Bemrich was a councilman for four years before winning his first term as mayor in 2009.

During his tenure as mayor, the city government has completed millions of dollars worth of road, water and sewer projects. The industrial park west of the city called Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation has grown during that time, and more recently there has been a surge in housing development in the city.

Apart from his government role, Bemrich is a master electrician for Bemrich Electric & Telephone. He and his wife, Michelle, have three sons.