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Editorial

Local trails are monument to community spirit

Residents of Webster County and beyond have a new option for getting outdoors. That option consists of about six miles of paved trail, complete with a big bridge over a drainage ditch that connects Fort Dodge and Badger. It is between 170th Street on the north side of Fort Dodge and Second Avenue Southeast on the south side of Badger. There will still be plenty of crisp fall days during which people can walk, run or bicycle on that trail. The trail is obviously the result of more than a year’s worth of work by planners, engineers and construction crews. But it is also the result ...

It’s time to support Community Health Center

In Fort Dodge, those who do not have health insurance have an option for getting high quality medical care. It’s called the Community Health Center of Fort Dodge and it offers medical, dental and behavioral health care. While most insurance is accepted there, those who need a financial break will have their bills based on their ability to pay. It opened in 2006 and has been a key source of care for thousands of area residents since then. A chance for everyone to support the Community Health Center that helps so many of our neighbors is now underway. It will conclude this coming ...

Corn syrup production is good for Webster County

Webster County has developed a sterling reputation as a place for value-added agricultural production. Plants in the county, especially in the industrial park called Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation, produce ethanol, dextrose, and amino acids, to name just a few products. But none of those plants have produced anything that would be an ingredient in foods that people would eat. Until now. The Cargill facility in Iowa’s Crossroads of Global Innovation now makes corn syrup, much of which will be used as a sweetener in candy. This corn syrup has been heralded as the first ...

October is National Pork Month

October has been designated National Pork Month. That makes it an especially good time to reflect on the importance of the pork industry to this state. It’s unlikely that anyone who lives in Iowa does not already know that pork production contributes mightily to the economic vitality of the Hawkeye State. It may come as a surprise, however, that hogs raised in Iowa account for more than 30 percent of U.S. hog production. Iowa ranks as the nation’s top hog-producing state. It’s also the top state for pork exports. According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association: • Exports ...

Keep Iowa’s roads safe during harvest

This is the time of the year when big, slow-moving farm vehicles rumble out onto roadways dominated by faster-paced traffic. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who lives in farm country. Even so, all of us should pay special heed to safety considerations as we share the roads with agricultural vehicles. In general, Iowa has been doing a good job of keeping accidents involving farm vehicles to a minimum. According to data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, fatalities and major injuries resulting from such accidents have been on the decline in recent years. That’s ...

4-H is about helping youths achieve

National 4-H Week, which begins Monday and concludes Saturday, is a good time to celebrate the enormous contributions 4-H makes to our community and nation. It’s hard to imagine anyone in Iowa who doesn’t know a bit about 4-H, but this week is an appropriate occasion to reflect on the important contribution this organization makes by helping young people develop skills and values that will serve them well for a lifetime. It has been more than a century since 4-H got its start in Iowa in 1901. Today it is the largest youth-development program in the state. About one-quarter of the ...