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Opinion

Speed limit increase is a bad idea

Editorial

Iowa’s lawmakers appear to be on the verge of raising the speed limit on the state’s two-lane highways. We think it’s a terrible idea and call on them to reject it. The bill now before the legislature would establish the default speed limit at 60 mph rather than the current 55 mph. But ...

Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is vital

Editorial

The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is built on this principle: everyone should get quality health care regardless of what kind of insurance they have or how much money they have in the bank. That’s a concept that seems so basic that no one should have to think about it. But in ...

Jerry Fitzgerald’s life a study in resilience, determination

Local Columns

Despite the passage of seven decades, Jerry Fitzgerald remembers the scene as if it were yesterday. He was 13-years-old, an eighth grader at Corpus Christi School, and the scene was a tiny second-floor apartment above Anvers restaurant in downtown Fort Dodge where he lived with his dad ...

Hearing was missed opportunity to weigh in on FD property taxes

Editorial

It seems like a segment of the Fort Dodge population has surrendered its right to complain about any potential increase in the city property tax rate that may be coming. As it stands right now, the city’s property tax rate for the 2026-2027 fiscal year is set to go up by 14 cents per $1,000 ...

Steady Leadership, Standing Apart

Local Columns

School districts all over Iowa are having a tough time right now. Enrollment is dropping, costs keep going up, and state funding isn’t keeping pace. A lot of communities have had to make painful cuts — slashing programs, letting good teachers go, and scaling back the very things families ...

Haymow Hoop Dreams

From the Publisher

March Madness brought another round of memorable moments in 2026. I can truly say this is my favorite time of the entire year. I grew up with a love of basketball that began in the early 1970’s on our small hobby farm, located 30 minutes south of the state capital in Madison. Our large ...