As the holiday season draws to a close each year, The Messenger’s writing staff embarks on a challenging adventure – producing a comprehensive look at how a wide array of developments in our region are shaping tomorrow. While every issue of this newspaper is filled with articles, ...

It’s an all too common sight on Iowa roads: a driver with a phone pressed to their ear, chatting away while their vehicle weaves in and out of its lane. Such action could be the beginning of a crash and, in a worst case scenario, a tragedy. Just how bad is this kind of distracted driving ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, being observed today, is an appropriate time to recall an exceptional person. But more importantly, it’s a time to recommit the nation to the cause for which King died and the legacy he left for all of us. The famed civil rights leader, assassinated April 4, ...

Ensuring the public safety is the most important role of a city government, and having a good police force is one of the key tools for fulfilling that role. A city ought to have a police force that is large enough to project a presence that will not only catch criminals, but deter them from ...

Just about everyone has called in sick at some point, saying they had the flu when they were sniffling, sneezing, maybe running a fever and generally feeling lousy. Those symptoms definitely add up to an illness, but the problem is not really the flu. Influenza, as it is properly known, is ...

There are exciting things going on in Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge and Webster County are well-positioned to prosper if creative leaders in government and the private sector leverage assets and resources appropriately to take advantage of the very real opportunities for business and commercial ...