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Questions need for new multipurpose building

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: How many multipurpose buildings does Fort Dodge need? Don’t we already have a multipurpose pavilion at the mall? This new building was backed by voter-approved school board referendum extending district borrowing authority. The school board approved this multipurpose building using our tax dollars. Why do we need another multipurpose building? We already own a brand new one in the mall. If need to transport students to this facility, we have school buses that the taxpayers own and certified drivers. The district just paid for new wrestling room and new auxiliary gym ...

Dayton Rodeo fun has started

Editorial

The roping and riding that will make up the 2026 edition of the Dayton Labor Day Rodeo will start Friday night and continue through Monday. The small Webster County city will be packed with rodeo fans all weekend. What began more than eight decades ago as the dream of three young cowboys — Allen Porter, Duane Vegors and Vern Danielson — has grown to a four-day event that draws contestants and spectators not only from all parts of Iowa, but also from throughout the nation. This annual event attracts 10,000 to 12,000 rodeo fans, many of whom journey every year to Webster County ...

New Backpack Buddies program needed

Editorial

For 14 years, thousands of local kids relied on a unique program to keep their tummies full with good food on the weekends throughout the school year. Each Friday they picked up a backpack, or in later years, a bag, filled with nutritious food. That food was courtesy of a program called Backpack Buddies and it was vital for them because of their families' economic situations. They relied on school breakfasts and lunches during the week for nutritious meals. But the weekends were another story. On Saturdays and Sundays, they may not have gotten much to eat at all and what they did get ...

Setting the example with civility

Editorial

In Fort Dodge and Webster County we are fortunate to always have people who are ready and willing to take on community leadership roles, many of which are pretty thankless tasks. Recently, we saw another example of this when Craig Schlienz agreed to accept a position on the Iowa Central Community College Board of Trustees to replace the late Mark Crimmins. Clearly, the college’s board is not as high profile as the Fort Dodge City Council or the Webster County Board of Supervisors. But providing oversight to an institution that has nearly 1,200 students living on the main Fort ...

Resident sees clear and present danger

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: I sit on my deck overlooking the new bike path on North 22nd Street, and every day I observe a dangerous combination of factors. I previously served as the safety non-commissioned officer for the 133rd Air Guard, which made me highly aware of unsafe conditions. I continue to notice them on a daily basis along the bike path and on North 22nd Street. The community has seen an explosion of e-bikes and e-scooters. I observe children as young as 8-years-old operating these. The kids operating these e-bikes often seem to know only one speed - full throttle. They may be ...

River cleanup yields heaps of waste

Editorial

Balancing a big tire or a bag of garbage on a canoe and then paddling that canoe downstream without capsizing requires some skill. Fortunately, some of the volunteers who took part in Saturday’s Des Moines River cleanup effort had the necessary skills to do just that. It is unfortunate, however, that the volunteers' strength and canoeing skill had to be applied to such a task. A tire — or any other kind of junk — should never be in a river. On Saturday, about 25 volunteers took part in the cleanup organized by Webster County Conservation. The group included some members of ...