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Editor's note: It turns out that the Fort Dodge city staff gets as frustrated with road construction as all of the other residents and visitors to the city. It also turns out that the city staff has a sense of humor about the situation, which was demonstrated by the release of an unofficial proclamation. Because road construction is an issue that affects everyone and to add a little levity to the weekend editorial page, we are sharing that proclamation.
Whereas, communities across the Midwest have long celebrated the arrival of spring with festivals honoring colorful tulips, beautiful blooms and carefully tended gardens, and
Whereas, here in Fort Dodge our most dependable seasonal bloom appears somewhat later in the year, is bright orange, stands approximately three feet tall, and thrives particularly well along freshly milled pavement, and
Whereas, the Orange Cone has once again flourished throughout Fort Dodge, appearing in impressive clusters along streets, intersections, construction zones, and occasionally in places where motorists swear there was not a cone the day before, and
Whereas, these vibrant orange specimens serve as a sure sign that Public Works crews, contractors, engineers and others are hard at work improving the streets we all will appreciate considerably more once the cones are gone, and
Whereas, just as visitors travel great distances to admire fields of tulips, Fort Dodge residents have been treated to breathtaking displays of cones, barrels, barricades, milling machines, pavers, dump trucks and the ever popular "Road Closed -- Local Traffic Only" signs, and
Whereas, the Orange Cone Festival includes many traditional activities, including the Daily Detour, the Guess Which Street Is Open Today Challenge, the Neighborhood Asphalt Parade, and the time-honored Fort Dodge custom of saying, "Are they going to fix this road?" followed immediately by "Why is this road closed?" when the work begins and
Whereas, unlike tulips, orange cones require no watering, survive nearly any weather conditions and have been known to migrate several feet over night, and
Whereas, beneath every cone, barricade, and temporary inconvenience is an investment in smoother streets, safer travel, and infrastructure that will serve Fort Dodge for years to come
Now therefore, I, Mayor David Flattery, on behalf of the City of Fort Dodge, do hereby unofficially proclaim the week of Aug. 24-30, 2026, as Orange Cone Festival Week in the City of Fort Dodge and encourage residents to celebrate our community's most abundant late-summer flower by slowing down, following posted detours, giving road crews plenty of room to work and remembering that every magnificent field of orange eventually gives way to fresh blacktop.
Residents are further encouraged to enjoy the festival responsibly, admire the cones from a safe distance and resist the temptation to relocate one as a souvenir.
May your commute be short and your detour clearly marked.
Disclaimer: This is not an official city proclamation. Mayor David Flattery did not issue, approve, request, suggest, hint at or otherwise authorize the creation of Orange Cone Festival Week. Communications just saw a lot of orange cones and got carried away.