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It’s time to celebrate Manson

For some good fun this weekend, check out a party for an area town that’s hitting the big 150. Of course, we are talking about Manson in Calhoun County, which is marking 150 years since its founding. The celebration starts today and runs through Sunday. The action starts this evening with an appreciation meal at Heartland Bank. A truck pull will cap off the day. Saturday’s events will include a parade, vendor fair, games for all ages, helicopter rides, historical displays and a skid loader rodeo. There will be a food court to feed hungry folks. Gates for the Crash My Crater ...

Lunch on Central

A fun and tasty event will return to downtown Fort Dodge Friday. Main Street Fort Dodge is orchestrating Lunch on Central from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will be a new version of what used to be called Lunch on the Square. Instead of being held on the City Square, it will be in the alley between The Messenger building and the Webster County Courthouse in the 700 block of Central Avenue. The name and location have changed, but the goal remains the same. That goal is to get more people to come downtown to enjoy a festive lunch hour and also spend some time in the shops that are ...

Gateway to Discovery women set an example for all

Beating addiction is hard work, physically, mentally and emotionally. The women of Gateway to Discovery are doing the hard work of conquering addiction. And if that isn’t enough, they recently went out and did some hard work to make part of the Fort Dodge community cleaner and better looking. Gateway to Discovery is a faith-based residential recovery program for women. Last week, the women tackled some of the mess once found along the Des Moines River near the Pleasant Valley neighborhood and along Mason Memorial Park Drive. The effort started under the Karl King Viaduct, ...

It’s time to honor our fathers

Father’s Day is upon us once again. The annual tribute to America’s dads is Sunday. That’s good news for the greeting card vendors. In recent years, they have sold upwards of 100 million cards to Americans intent on paying tribute to good old dad. About half of those cards are purchased by dutiful sons and daughters. Wives honoring a man they love account for most of the rest. Other merchants also rejoice in the arrival of Father’s Day each June because gift purchases keep cash registers humming. The commercial side of Father’s Day, while good for the economy, is not all ...

Fort Dodge needs new pickleball courts

Sending what looks like a wiffle ball back and forth over a net by hitting it with solid paddles is the heart of the sport of pickleball. It’s a little like tennis, or perhaps some oversized version of ping pong. And it is rapidly growing in popularity. There is a growing number of pickleball players in Fort Dodge. They want a designated public place to play their game. We think they should have one. Right now, they play on the basketball courts at Dodger Court. Markings for a 22-by44-foot pickleball court have been painted on the ground there. But the basketball courts were ...

Blanden Memorial Art Museum is a local treasure

Area residents have the opportunity to see all kinds of wonderful art by big names like Picasso close to home. They can also learn how to paint with water colors or make ceramic artwork without traveling far. Those kinds of experiences are usually found in big city museums. But thanks to the presence of the Blanden Memorial Art Museum, people living in and around Fort Dodge can have that kind of interaction with the arts without traveling to New York or Chicago. The Blanden, as it is often called, is celebrating a milestone this year. It is marking 90 years since it first opened ...