For a few minutes Saturday afternoon, it looked like there were snow flurries coming down in Fort Dodge. But the white flakes were not snow, they were small pieces of hail. Not long after the small hail stones dissipated, residents heard an ominous heavy thumping on their roofs. That was the sound of more hail, except it was now the size of golf balls.

The hail did a number on vehicles and roofs. Lots of residents now need repairs to their homes and vehicles.

We urge people to turn to local, established businesses to get those repairs done.

It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that some out-of-town contractors will start coming to Fort Dodge to make some money from the hail damage situation.

While there are certainly reputable firms beyond the borders of Fort Dodge and Webster County, we urge people to think hard about whether they want to do business with a company that they never heard of until there was a problem. There’s always a chance that a company that comes to town right after a hail storm might not be around in the not too distant future.

That’s not a problem when doing business with a local firm.

The local companies have a track record dating back decades and, in some cases, generations. They employ our family members, friends and neighbors.

Those companies are not going anywhere and they will stand behind the repairs they do for years.

For those reasons, we recommend that anyone in need of hail damage repairs does business with established local companies.