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Child abuse trial begins

A jury trial is underway for a Fort Dodge man charged with 39 counts of child abuse against his own baby. Austin Prewitt, 25, was charged in September 2025 with dozens of counts of both felony and misdemeanor child endangerment causing bodily injury, assault causing injury, child endangerment causing injury, and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. During opening statements in Webster County District Court Thursday, Webster County Assistant County Attorney Bailey Cavanaugh said the life of Prewitt’s 10-month-old son was “physically tumultuous.” According to ...

Go and Do: May 15, 2026

In Fort Dodge FORT DODGE — Local law enforcement officers will be raising money for Special Olympics from 6 a.m. to noon TODAY at Dunkin’, 2520 Fifth Ave. S. Every dollar raised helps provide opportunities, training, and competition for Special Olympics athletes throughout Iowa. Donors can receive a free doughnut, iced or hot coffee, or a koozie, based on the amount donated. FORT DODGE — First United Methodist Church, First Avenue North and 10th Street, will hold a rummage and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. TODAY and 9 a.m. to noon SATURDAY. Enter the church on the west side ...

Walking on the Dragoon Trail

Following in the footsteps of a famous military battalion of U.S. Dragoons that rode through Iowa in the summer of 1835, historian Kevin T. Mason recalls how he was able to retrace this expedition almost two centuries later by walking 371 miles on the Dragoon Trail. A University of ...

New EMS coordinator starts in Webster County

Webster County’s new emergency medical services coordinator is now on the job. Scott Richard is filling a new position created as a result of the March 2025 voter approval of a property tax to support emergency medical services. Richard was introduced during Wednesday’s meeting of the county’s Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council. He is a native of Minnesota, who has been a paramedic for 30 years. During that time he has worked for several different agencies. For the last 15 years he had been a paramedic for UnityPoint Health - LifeFlight. He has also been an EMS ...