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$17 M grant for mall project is a win for the community

It’s hard to miss the evolution of the place generations of Fort Dodge area residents knew as Crossroads Mall. In fact, most of the former big enclosed mall will be gone in the not-too-distant future. In its place will be a complex of buildings called Corridor Plaza. One new building housing a convenient care clinic is already standing, and two new roads pass close to it. A new strip mall is under construction, and the place that was once the Younkers wing of the mall is being renovated. That transformation got a big boost Friday when the Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded ...

Today is Earth Day

The late 1960s were turbulent years in America. It was a time of rapid change when young protesters expressed disillusionment with many aspects of the world their elders had built. The divisions in society that emerged from those conflicts decades ago still haunt our society in the 21st century. Some of the emotional scars from those bitter disputes will influence American politics well into the future. There is, however, one legacy of those chaotic times that unites rather than divides us — Earth Day. The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. Today marks 52 years of Earth ...

Youth trip to Kosovo deserves support

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has Americans thinking about foreign affairs in a way that they probably have not done in a long time. Among other things, the war has made it clear once again that peaceful bonds of friendship need to be forged between countries, and the United States is no exception. Iowa and Fort Dodge are already doing this, creating a new but steadily strengthening relationship with Kosovo and Gjakova, one of the cities in that relatively young Balkan nation. These relationships began in the early 2000s during the civil war in which Kosovo separated from Serbia. ...

Time to get outside and get moving

This past winter has been an interesting one, with plenty of cold days, one monster snow storm in January and an Easter snowfall to cap it off. Following all that, lots of folks are ready to get outside, stretch their legs and enjoy the company of others. Two upcoming events will provide a ideal chance to do all that. The first of those events is Third Thursday Fit Night. The Third Thursday Fit Night is a run/walk held, as the name implies, on the third Thursday of the month from April through October. This Thursday will be the first one for this year. Third Thursday Fit Night ...

PICA has major positive impact on Fort Dodge

The impact of a group of volunteers known as Pride In Community Appearance can be seen throughout Fort Dodge. Usually called PICA, the group makes the town look beautiful by taking care of flower beds and landscaping on public property. PICA members tend to flower beds in parks and around the welcome signs at the gateways to the community. They give the landscaping at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex a thorough grooming before the girls state softball tournament every summer. In perhaps the group’s biggest project, its members turned a stub of street off Martin Luther King ...

Unique attractions await along historic Highway 20

If you want to get across northern Iowa quickly and efficiently, by all means take four-lane U.S. Highway 20. Advocates for the highway worked for about 60 years to get it widened to four lanes as a way to grow the economy of the northern tier of the state. But if you want to take a leisurely road trip, see some unique sites, and enjoy some food and beverages, there is a part of the highway that is perfect for that, too. The original U.S. Highway 20 was laid out in 1926, and much of that first route is still intact. The Historic Route 20 Association, a national group, is ...