Our judicial-nominating process was created with good intentions. But it needs improvement to better reflect our state and its people. Seventeen members of the state judicial-nominating commission select judges to serve on our court of appeals and supreme court. Eight members of the ...

“They were asking for diet tips as my heart was giving out.” “They” were not just friends or strangers whom author and anorexia nervosa survivor Carrie Arnold is referring to in her quest for recovery from anorexia nervosa that began in the 1980s. “They” were also the doctors and ...

Iowans should be aware that bills have been introduced in the Iowa House and Senate (HF503 and SSB1101) to change the selection process and term of the Iowa Supreme Court chief justice and change the nomination process of Iowa judges from a balanced merit-based process, to a political ...

Occasionally, a piece of legislation sparks a tremendous amount of emotion on a given topic, but the real underlining issue is not the highlight of the debate. Reflecting on the development and progress of SSB 1190 in the Iowa Legislature provides a perfect example. This bill would repeal the ...

Every winter as the temperature dips down and the snow piles up, the Iowa Legislature convenes with old and new faces as well as old and new ideas. For years, an undercurrent of skepticism and questioning of the Judicial Branch has buzzed along due to differing views lawmakers may have had ...

February is Heart Month. At UnityPoint Health our goal is to keep you young at heart and help you “Do What You Love.” Whether you recently have experienced a cardiac event or know someone who has, UnityPoint Health is here to help. After a cardiac event, it can be nerve-racking to think ...

Editor’s note: This Messenger editorial was published on Saturday, Feb. 5, 1994. The immediate communitywide reaction to the devastating Eilers Hotel fire is sympathy for the family of the victim, the 15 injured, those left homeless and for the owners — the Joe McMahons, father and son ...

The heart never forgets. “My top five moments when my Dad was in hospice care . . . 5. Dad offering candy from a boxed sampler to each of the many hospice workers who came to his home. 4. My husband, Craig, cluing Dad in on what was happening for the day; hospice appointments, news ...

Since 1966, individuals with disabilities could work in a segregated setting and earn less than minimum wage through LifeWorks Community Services. As of 2019, this segregation ends. “Times have changed. In 1966, it was revolutionary to offer a place just for individuals with disabilities to ...

In today’s world, it can be confusing to decide where to goto receive appropriate health care for your circumstance; Urgent Care, Family Medicine, ER or a specialist. As a provider in the Fort Dodge area, I wanted to take this opportunity to describe some differences and maybe clear up ...

On Aug. 19, 1921, the Fort Dodge Lions Club was chartered with 33 people present to sign the charter. The club first met at the Wahkonsa Hotel, then the Warden Hotel, then the Eilers Hotel, then back to the Wahkonsa until moving to Treloars Inn for many years. Many prominent Fort Dodgers ...

Air service is critically important to each of our state’s key economic drivers. Iowa’s largest employers rank commercial air service in the top three factors influencing expansion and relocation decisions. Recently, major business relocations in other parts of the country have supported ...

Pilots used to need 250 hours of flight time to get hired by a regional airline. Now, they need 1,500 hours. The genesis of the 1,500-hour rule, as it came to be known, can be traced to Feb. 12, 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407, operating as Continental Connection, crashed into a house on ...

The media, including magazines that purport to empower women, are behaving as “mean girls” when it comes to their deplorable treatment of first lady Melania Trump, who is a class act by any standards. Women’s magazines that never missed an opportunity to heap lavish praise upon Michelle ...

For years, Dick Johnson put smiles on the faces of hundreds of Fort Dodge girls and boys and helped many of them usher in another birthday — made all the more special by celebrating it on live television. Those lucky kids who appeared on “Uncle Dick’s Fun House” are now in their 60s ...

I am not a dispatcher. I am a journalist. But you probably wouldn’t realize how our lives parallel unless you stepped into the newsroom of The Messenger at any given moment on any given day and heard dispatch coming across the scanner. The Webster County Law Enforcement Center is literally ...

Shimkat Motor Co. and Community Health Center of Fort Dodge are once again collecting winter clothing for children who need those items. The annual clothing drive, Coats for Kids, is a collaborative effort between Shimkat and Community Health Center to help area school children stay warm. ...

Dear Lord, I am thankful. I am thankful that as I drive through this grey fall landscape we know as Iowa after the harvest, it is cold and my windows are up. Once, years ago, my best friend was driving through Iowa to interview for a teaching job. It was hot and her car windows were down. A ...

November is here and the holiday season is beginning. This time of year we often find ourselves giving thanks and reflecting on “what matters.” At UnityPoint Health we have a lot to be thankful for and we know people matter. November also happens to be National Homecare and Hospice month ...

All of his parishioners have been convicted of crime and are serving prison time for their offense, but there’s no job the Rev. Paul Stone would rather do than to serve as their pastor. “I feel like I’m working with people who recognize that to change their lives, they can’t do it ...