The Fort Dodge Community School District Board of Education approved the final plans and accepted a bid for construction for the Dodger Stadium Turf Replacement Project on Monday night.

The meeting opened with a public hearing on the project. No members of the public attended or submitted written comments prior to the meeting.

District Director of Buildings and Grounds Ryan Utley presented to the board the two bids received for the project.

The first bid came from Midwest FieldTurf, of Denison, for $782,800. The second was for $625,469.99 by Mid-America Sports Construction of Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

“That one did not meet the specs (of the project),” Utley said of the second, lower bid.

However, the Midwest FieldTurf bid did meet the specifications of the project.

“It’s basically an upgraded version of what we currently have at the stadium right now,” Utley said.

He said the life of the product from Midwest FieldTurf would also last longer than the Astroturf from Mid-America Sports Construction.

The school board unanimously approved the bid award to Midwest FieldTurf, with board member Matt Wagner absent.

The school board also received a presentation from three Fort Dodge Senior High School students who traveled to Fort Dodge’s “sister city” of Gjakova, Kosovo, over the summer.

FDSH sophomores Cayci Bidleman, Isabel Gruver and Caden Elliott all shared their impact statements and experiences on the trip. A fourth student who also went on the trip, St. Edmond High School freshman Emma Alstott, was unable to attend Monday’s meeting.

School board president asked the students what surprised them the most during their trip to Kosovo.

“They put ketchup on their pizza,” Gruver said immediately.

During his superintendent’s update, Superintendent Dr. Jesse Ulrich shared his appreciation to the Deardorf Foundation for its donation of $30,000 to purchase new choir robes for the district’s choir programs.

The next school board meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10, at the Central Administration Building.