Breaking News

Editorial

Let’s keep Halloween fun

Unlike most holidays, Halloween really has no serious purpose. It’s primarily an opportunity for harmless, child-oriented fun. Costumes, trick-or-treat activities and an opportunity to engage in make-believe combine to make Halloween a favorite of youngsters and those still young at heart. Unfortunately, what can be a day filled with happy festivities can turn tragic if adults don’t ensure that important safety precautions are observed. Drivers in particular need to be mindful that in the dark of early evening, large numbers of children preoccupied with trick-or-treat pursuits ...

Grab a scoop, put on a hair net to help the hungry

Spending a couple hours scooping rice and other ingredients into plastic bags may not seem like a way to change the world for the better. And it may not sound like much fun, either. But when all that scooping and filling of bags is part of a worldwide effort to get food to the hungry, it is indeed a way to make our world a little bit better. And as people who have volunteered in previous meal-packing efforts of this sort can tell you, it can also be a blast. An opportunity to be part of a global effort to feed hungry children is coming soon to Fort Dodge. Feed My Starving Children ...

Holiday tradition will return to John F. Kennedy Memorial Park

This is the season for ghosts, pumpkins and bats. Go ahead and enjoy Halloween. After all, who doesn’t like a spooky story on a cool, crisp fall evening? Halloween starts the run of holidays that fill the last months of a year. In a few short weeks, people will be filling up on turkey and sacking out on the couch in front of televised football games. And then comes Christmas. There is a Christmas tradition in Webster County that generates a lot of happiness while also raising money for some tremendous causes. It’s called Lights at Kennedy. In advance of Lights at Kennedy, ...

It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Most people never experience domestic violence. Unfortunately, however, some estimates put the incidence among Americans at more than 12 million people each year. Women, men and children all can be victims. No socioeconomic or age group is spared. Researchers tell us, however, that young women between the ages of 18 and 34 are especially likely to experience domestic violence. Roughly one in four American women over the age of 18 become victims of abuse at some point during their lives. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Making people more cognizant of this problem and ...

Good reading for a good cause

The weather is colder and every day it gets darker just a little bit earlier. When it is chilly and dark outside, it is a perfect time to relax inside with a good book. The Friends of the Fort Dodge Public Library is now offering a good opportunity for everyone to expand their collection of reading materials. That group is now starting the fall version of its twice yearly used book sale. There are tables stretching the length of the library’s big meeting room and they are covered with books for sale. There are even some books still in boxes beneath the tables. Something to ...

Support Coats for Kids

It’s hard to imagine facing an Iowa winter without a warm coat. Sadly, some area youngsters could be confronted with just that prospect if their families are facing a challenging economic situation. Fortunately, however, through the combined efforts of Shimkat Motor Co. and the Community Health Center of Fort Dodge many of these young folks will have warm coats and other winter wear as the colder, wintry days arrive. This joint project — called Coats for Kids — accepts donations of new and gently used winter coats, along with hats, scarves, mittens and snow boots. All sizes are ...