While he is new to the position of publisher, he is no stranger to The Messenger. He worked at the paper as regional circulation manager from 2000 to 2023.

Most recently, he was the publisher of The Journal in New Ulm, Minnesota, and The Independent in Marshall, Minnesota. He was the publisher of those newspapers from 2023 until returning to The Messenger.

He started in his new position Dec. 15, replacing Terry Christensen, who retired Nov. 21.

“We want to have a great local paper that people are going to look to for their local news and advertising — everything they need — in The Messenger each day,” he said.

“We want to fill our pages with local news,” he added. “We want to be visible in the community.”

Fort Dodge, he said, is “essentially my adopted hometown.”

“Fort Dodge has a lot of good things going on,” he said. “The city just keeps revitalizing itself.”

While working as regional circulation manager, Gibbons served on the Southeast Webster — Grand Board of Education for 12 years, and was the board president for four of those years. He later served as mayor of Harcourt for six years.

Gibbons is a native of Albany, Wisconsin. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.

Early in his career he worked as a circulation director for Bliss Communications and Thompson Newspapers.