Sections of the Des Moines River and its banks in Fort Dodge are cleaner now thanks to the volunteer efforts of employees from three local businesses.

Humes Distributing Inc. started the cleanup recently when a crew of eight employees spent about three hours pulling debris from the river beneath the Karl King Viaduct. Unfortunately, there was a lot there.

The volunteers picked up more than 40 tires. They pulled the frame of a trailer that had probably been used to carry a boat or snowmobile from the middle of the river. A 96-gallon garbage container that had filled with silt was muscled out of the river. Additionally, several bags of trash were collected from the nearby river banks.

All of this junk was placed in a dump trailer supplied by Doyle Construction, of Fort Dodge. The trailer was taken to the Humes warehouse, where the Fort Dodge Public Works Department collected the material and took it to the regional landfill south of town.

The Humes crew challenged other businesses to pitch in and help clean up the river.

The challenge was answered first by PMSI/Precision Millwright Specialists, a building equipment contractor. Next came a crew from Webster County Abstract Co, which took on the area near where the little dam once stood. Thanks to the workers from those two companies, more junk and tires were removed.

We are disturbed that all this stuff was in and around the river. Sadly, there is probably a lot more debris out there.

The good news is that there are people and businesses willing to clean up the mess.

We thank Humes Distributing Inc., Doyle Construction, PMSI/Precision Millwright Specialists and Webster County Abstract Co. for their efforts.