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By BROOKLYN DRAISEY Iowa Capital Dispatch The Iowa Board of Regents has approved a national search to replace the University of Northern Iowa’s leader as President Mark Nook prepares for retirement. Board Counsel Aimee Claeys said during the Thursday board meeting that with board approval, which was given unanimously, board staff will seek applicants Friday for potential search-firm partners and also begin developing a search committee. “We fully anticipate that this search will follow the cadence and process that we have used quite successfully in recent searches,” Claeys ...

Outage causes inconveniences

A massive disruption in commonly used Microsoft programs Thursday created some inconveniences locally, but did not bring commerce or government to a halt. The outage, which apparently hit all of North America, affected the Outlook email system and the Teams chat program. Astra Ferris, the ...

Large brush pile fire ignited in Oleson Park

The Fort Dodge Fire Department responded to a large brush pile fire at Oleson Park at 4:45 a.m. Thursday. After knocking down a large amount of flames early in the morning, firefighters returned throughout the day and evening to check on the smoldering remains. The pile contains trees, ...

Kantor Avenue east of Briggs Woods to remain closed

WEBSTER CITY — Nearly every chair was filled at the Hamilton County Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, with the majority of the residents attending there to learn more about the closing of the Kantor Avenue bridge east of Briggs Woods. The topic of the bridge’s condition was addressed by ...

Go and Do: Nov. 13, 2026

Around the area MANSON — Manson Northwest Webster High School will present its fall play, “Polecat Hayride,” at 7 p.m. TODAY and SATURDAY in the Kate Toben Auditorium at the high school, 1601 15th St. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. HARCOURT — The Greenfield-Hartquist ...

A legacy of service

Editors note: This story first appeared in The Messenger in November 2025. WEBSTER CITY — Why wait? That was the philosophy that compelled Leo Lanctot to enlist in the U.S. Army very soon after high school graduation back in 1963. "I wanted to beat the draft," Lanctot recalled. "My older ...