Breaking News

Editorial

The Messenger to unveil 68th football publication

Fall in Iowa is the season of harvest, pumpkins, orange-colored leaves and, of course, football. On cool Friday evenings and on Saturday afternoons, people from all across the Fort Dodge area gather every fall to watch their local heroes of the gridiron compete. They’ll scream and cheer for their favorite team, occasionally grumble about the referees and even embody the Iowa nice tradition by applauding fine play by the opponents. The cool evenings seem to have arrived, and the high school football season will kick off on Friday. To learn about Dodger Stadium, the iconic venue ...

Area residents must take advantage of Fort Dodge Regional’s air service

Skywest Airlines Inc., doing business as United Express, provides flights between Fort Dodge and Chicago. All of us have a big role to play to make sure that service stays at Fort Dodge Regional Airport. To do that, local people need to make an effort to use that airline and the airport for all their flight needs. United Express is flying 50-seat jets to and from Fort Dodge. If the community keeps those seats full, the airline will have lots of incentive to keep flying to and from our hometown. There are some nice incentives for people to take advantage of this air service. First, ...

Local residents need to remember the good things

Fort Dodge had an opportunity Monday to make a good first impression on a company that could be a major part of the community in the future. The early results from the Hometown Tour by representatives of Kading Properties appear to be good. The company leaders had good things to say about Fort Dodge before they had even completed their tour. And there are plenty of things in Fort Dodge and the surrounding area to say good good things about. This is a community that has successfully revitalized the location where an old enclosed mall once stood. One Kading Properties official said ...

Vision clinic provided vital local service

For people who don’t have insurance or don’t have a pretty strong vision component to their insurance, the cost can keep them out of the eye doctor’s office. But not going to the eye doctor’s office may mean that they don’t see as well as they could. And it also means that sight-stealing conditions like glaucoma won’t get diagnosed until it is too late. A remarkable event held early this summer brought much needed vision care to nearly 400 area residents, and it did not cost them a dime. This major vision clinic was held June 19-20 at Butler Elementary School. It was ...

Shellabration Inc. is asset to Fort Dodge

Jim Reed, Ted Bodensteiner, Craig Schlienz and all the other volunteers who make up Shellabration Inc. have done it again. On Saturday night, about 5,000 people crammed into the intersection of Central Avenue and Ninth Street for this year’s Downtown Country Jam concert. They were treated to rousing performances by Trace Adkins, The Boys and Fort Dodge’s own Jared Benson. Local volunteers worked behind the scenes for months to make the show possible, then shifted into really high gear the day before the concert to get everything set up. On Saturday morning, they dealt with a ...

Community-minded people needed for city council, other local offices

Like our nation, our city is a democracy that needs the participation of the people to be a success. That participation is especially needed now as the community begins a local election cycle. It is time for citizens who are concerned about their city to take a step toward being more involved by running for public office. In Fort Dodge, voters will choose a mayor and six of the seven City Council members. And some familiar names will not be on the ballot. Mayor Matt Bemrich is not seeking a fifth term. At-large council members Lydia Schuur and Quennel McCaleb are not seeking ...