When last seen, an orange cat with the unlikely name of Raven was at the Almost Home Humane Society of North Central Iowa, awaiting a chance for a real home. The Fort Dodge animal shelter is closed to visitors, but Raven and all of the other dogs and cats in the facility at 725 S. 32nd St. ...
For millions of American students, public schools have been closed since mid-March. School has been wherever a quiet place could be found in the home. For most, class starts when they and their parents decide it will. That simply will not work for many children. There is a reason we still ...
To the editor: My world is filled with wonderful friends who feel a desire to help during this Covid Crisis. It is hard to feel like there is nothing you can do. You need to know that the most important thing to do right now is to stay home to avoid contact with other people. Donating ...
No doubt some members of Congress had to hold their noses while they were voting for the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. CARES includes a ton of money for initiatives that have nothing to do with COVID-19. Why on earth did anyone think it was important to cough ...
To the editor: I am amazed, not shocked have you, but amazed that Nancy Pelosi would blatantly raid the aid bill to satisfy her own agenda. Her insistence that the bill provide $25 million to the Kennedy Center is ridiculous. This clause has nothing to do with saving lives or saving the ...
Local residents who are handy with a needle and thread, or a sewing machine, are striking a blow against the coronavirus. The virus has curtailed activities drastically, but these folks are taking advantage of the unplanned time at home to aid health care workers by making cloth masks to help ...
Historically, it takes a war to postpone or cancel the modern Olympic Games. Since 1896, there have been three cancellations — the 1916 Berlin games (World War I); and the 1940 and 1944 games (World War II) in Japan, then Helsinki, Finland, and, for the latter games, London and Italy. ...
Health care professionals and people who work in hospitals, care facilities and pharmacies are very much on the frontlines of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. We all should salute their willingness to put themselves at risk to make certain people who become sick have the care and ...
In light of Webster County’s first COVID-19 case, we want to ensure our community has accurate and factual information. We are extremely proud of the work that has been done to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic with our community partners through the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). ...
As health care professionals risk their lives all around us because they lack personal protective gear, we continue to see people out in public — often clearly on non-essential trips — wearing face masks. There have been reports of people buying large quantities of them. If you have the ...
The idea of getting poked with a big needle and having some of your blood siphoned out is not at all a pleasant one. However, people who are brave enough to get jabbed and allow some of their blood to be drawn out are a type of hero commonly called a blood donor. They save a lot of ...
As Iowans continue to fight against the spread of COVID-19 with extraordinary public health measures, it’s important that “National Ag Week” is now. Our farmers and the entire Iowa food and ag community are continuing to step up, providing food and energy security when it matters most. ...
Knowing that some of their students, and their families, were not getting enough to eat, leaders of a handful of Fort Dodge schools took the innovative step of establishing food pantries. Butler Elementary School, 945 S. 18th St., and Duncombe Elementary School, 1620 Sixth Ave. N., are two of ...
To the editor: I think it is time to inject some humor into the letter to the editor to give some relief to people who are so stressed oiut wondering if they are going to have enough toilet paper during this ordeal. Mr. Trump and I will guarantee there will be enough to take care of your ...
There is a reason “Yankee ingenuity” is recognized throughout the world. We Americans have a reputation for identifying challenges and devising ways to overcome them. Use your head if you decide to come up a home remedy, a way to stretch supplies such as those of food — or any other ...
After an at times trying winter, spring is about to arrive. As another growing season approaches, today has been set as National Ag Day by the Agriculture Council of America. The council designates the week within which it falls as National Ag Week. This important time to celebrate ...
Many local business people — and their employees — will get through the COVID-19 epidemic with their physical health intact but their finances ravaged. For those involved with restaurants and bars, the damage already is severe because of closure orders. Restaurants are permitted to serve ...
Our nation is gearing up for what may be a long struggle to prevail against the coronavirus pandemic. As lawmakers in Washington craft responses to the many issues that must be addressed rather quickly, it is important that some of them have recent real-world experience with the problems to be ...
To the editor: I have read with interest the series in The Messenger on the impact of vaping. What reasonable person, young or old, would believe inhaling anything of a foreign nature into your lungs would not be a risk to your health? Like smoking cigarettes, the chance of contracting some ...
As our nation mobilizes its resources to minimize the harm caused by the coronavirus pandemic, our state and the nation is fortunate to have U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley in a key leadership role in Congress. The Iowa Republican chairs the Senate Finance Committee. Many of the most significant ...