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Editorial

This holiday season, support hometown businesses

Tens of millions of Americans will do most, if not all, their holiday season shopping with giant online retail operations this year. They will argue that it is more convenient or safer for them to do so rather than patronize local brick-and-mortar stores. Local retailers, from mom-and-pop specialty shops to the big-box stores, rely on Christmas shoppers for significant chunks of the revenue that keeps them open year-round. If they have a bad holiday shopping season, they suffer terribly. Some many not survive long into the new year. So what? Well, put on your thinking cap for a ...

A Time for Angels helps those who mourn

The death of a loved one is the emotional equivalent of getting hit by a train. There’s almost nothing that can create the bewildering range of emotions that the death of a loved one can generate. The range of emotions can include anger, fear, sadness, loneliness and other feelings that defy ordinary description. And those emotions can hit hardest during the holiday season. The staff of Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services is well aware of that. So for 24 years, they have organized an event called A Time for Angels to help soothe the pain of people who have experienced a ...

Lights at Kennedy makes season festive

As Christmas approaches, the campground at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park is once again being transformed into a holiday wonderland. The 19th annual Lights at Kennedy will help make the season more festive for area residents and visitors. Additionally, the event raises money to support the important Backpack Buddies program. The light display, featuring multiple different exhibits, debuts Saturday night. It will be open again on Sunday night. In addition to this weekend, the upcoming dates are Dec. 9-11, Dec. 16-18 and Dec. 23. The display will be open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on each ...

Sign up to ring bells for The Salvation Army

People going in and out of the major Fort Dodge stores recently may have noticed that something usually found near the entrance at this time of year is missing. During the Christmas season a red kettle and someone ringing a bell greets those going in and out of stores. The kettles and the bells are a primary fundraiser for The Salvation Army. But this year, the kettles are largely out of sight and the bells are silent. Why? So far, at least, there are not enough people to stand by the kettles and ring the bells. The Salvation Army is in urgent need of help for the annual kettle ...

Today is Small Business Saturday

Shoppers, including many who hit the big box stores in an early morning frenzy Friday, are encouraged to spend today checking out the unique things offered by our community’s small shops. In Fort Dodge, many of those small shops are downtown. And those coming downtown today to do some business can also be part of some events to get the holiday season started. Nationwide, today is known as Small Business Saturday. It’s a long-standing effort to encourage people to spend some of their Christmas-shopping dollars with small stores. Small businesses employ about 50 percent of those ...

Shared Thanksgiving is fine tradition

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday that features family, food, and yes, the occasional football game. In the spirit of the holiday, thousands of people in the Fort Dodge region gathered around tables with relatives and friends for a traditional feast on Thursday. Dining room tables throughout the area were laden with turkeys, stuffing, corn, cranberries, green bean casseroles, pies and all kinds of other delicious things. But some of our neighbors couldn’t afford such a meal. Perhaps some lost a job; perhaps others had been hit with unexpected and high medical bills. The ...