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Editorial

Chief justice’s legacy to be honored with volunteer efforts

Fairly and correctly administering the law was a form of public service that Mark Cady turned into his life’s work. Cady, the Fort Dodge man who was the chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court when he died in November 2019, was a steady presence in courtrooms for nearly 40 years. He began his judicial career as a Webster County district associate court judge. He steadily moved up the ranks of the state’s judiciary, becoming a district court judge, judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals and justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. He became chief justice in 2010. During that time, he heard ...

It’s time to put trivia knowledge, driving skills to work

Have you ever been accused of having a trivial mind? Now, we don’t mean that in any insulting way. But if you have a mind for obscure facts and figures – the stuff that forms the basis of trivia games – you have a gift that can be put to use helping to make sure that some of the older residents in our community will be assured of getting at least one hot meal a day. Meals on Wheels, the organization that delivers that food, is having a trivia game night Saturday as a fundraiser. It begins at 6 p.m. at Willow Ridge Golf Course, 1788 Madison Ave. The cost is $50 per person, and ...

Be part of area effort to support our troops overseas

There are still thousands of American troops who are stationed not only far from home, but thousands of miles away from the United States. They are on the frontlines, protecting our rights and freedoms in a world that seems increasingly scary. An effort now getting underway will enable folks from northwest Iowa to send those soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines a few comforts of home in the form of care packages that will arrive as the holiday season gears up. And people will be able to be a part of this effort without lugging anything to the post office. The troop care package ...

Keep the buses rolling safely

Riding the big yellow bus is an essential part of the school day for thousands of local children. Those school buses do more than take kids to and from class. They are also the transportation to field trips, sports events and other activities. With so many buses on the road carrying students from pre-school to seniors in high school, safety is of paramount importance. That’s why the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa State Patrol have stringent standards for school buses. But the rest of us on the road also have some responsibility for keeping the kids on those buses ...

Riverfront project is a partnership for better quality of life

An ambitious plan to bring new life to the riverfront in downtown Fort Dodge is the beneficiary of $4 million in state funding. That grant money will help pay for a nature center and park on a now vacant stretch of land along the Des Moines River at First Street and Central Avenue. Construction of the nature center alone will cost $6.7 million, so it is easy to see how significant a $4 million grant will be in the financing of this project. In fact, the grant equals 17 percent of the estimated cost of the entire project. The project is a cooperative one between Webster County and ...

If the worst happens, people need to know how to escape from fires

Legend has it that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern and started what became known as the Great Chicago Fire. Whether a cow had anything to do with it remains unknown, but there is no doubt that a massive fire started in Chicago on Oct. 8, 1871, and burned through Oct. 9, 1871. The blaze killed about 250 people, left 100,000 other people homeless and destroyed more than 17,400 buildings. Determined to prevent another such conflagration and reduce the overall toll of fire in the United States, the National Fire Protection Association commenced the observance of Fire ...