Local News

County Road Department receives $21+ million in grant funding

The Webster County Roads Department is set to receive more than $21 million in grant funding this year. According to County Engineer Jamie Johll, most of the grants are from the federal government for bridge replacement projects. He said that the Webster County Board of Supervisors and Iowa’s federal legislators have helped to make the grants possible. “It all starts with the board supporting my office applying for these grants,” said Johll. “It takes a lot of upfront work to prepare federal grant applications, and although we have been very successful, the grants are ...

Supervisors approve settlement with City of Otho

The Webster County Board of Supervisors approved a settlement agreement and release on Tuesday between the county and the City of Otho. According to Webster County Attorney Darren Driscoll, there was a short-term dispute as to who was responsible for payment after a county road was damaged when sewer or water lines went through it. According to Driscoll, the contractor made an initial repair which didn’t take, so the county had to step in and pay for the repair so that it wouldn’t damage Webster County Road Department machinery. The road is North Highway Street in Otho, which is ...

St. Edmond students perform history at Fort Museum

From pharmacists to priests and politicians, 11th-graders from St. Edmond Catholic School recently portrayed a panorama of local historical figures at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village. Known as a “Living Wax Museum,” the project included approximately 60 juniors in an American ...

St Edmond prom court

A step back in time

The first “Living Wax Museum” at the Fort Museum and Frontier Village was the brainchild of Lizzy Tiernan — a 16-year-old junior at St. Edmond Catholic High School in Fort Dodge. The event attracted dozens of participants and hundreds of observers on Monday. Traditionally at St. ...

Shooting by FD Police leads to lawsuit

The family of a man who was shot and killed by Fort Dodge police while in the midst of a mental-health crisis is now suing the city. The estate of Tyler Stansberry is suing the city, its police department, and officers Nicholas Ruggles, Matthew English, Mathew Webb and Andrew Lane in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The lawsuit, which was originally filed last month in state court, states that Stansberry, 24, was autistic and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. On March 16, 2024, according to the lawsuit, his brother, Tristan, called police and told the ...