Throughout the month of October, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we proudly honor the incredible strength of breast cancer survivors and those who continue to fight this disease today. You are true warriors, and we are deeply honored to call you our friends and members of this ...

Editor’s note: The Messenger generally does not publish letters or columns from candidates for office. However, because Councilman Dave Flattery is running unopposed for mayor and will in fact be the next mayor of Fort Dodge, we feel it is appropriate to share with the readers his thoughts on ...

The lesson of the hot stove emerged again. That is the lesson toddlers learn early and smart ones retain for a lifetime. Touch something hot and you know not to touch it again. Educator Ian Roberts delivered a new rendition of the lesson over the past fortnight. Time will tell whether ...

Across Iowa and the nation, hospitals are facing a critical shortage of type O blood. This shortage is especially concerning because O-negative blood is the universal donor type – it can be used in emergency situations when there’s no time to determine a patient’s blood type. Meanwhile, ...

Recently, I was visiting with an older gentleman friend about what I should write about next. From across the table, a woman offered, "Farming." When I looked back, my friend looked me square in the eye and said, “Yep.” He knows I don’t come from a farming background, but we've had long ...

As president of Iowa Central Community College, there is not a single day that passes without a business owner or community member asking me how we can increase the number of people in the skilled workforce that our region, state, and nation so desperately depend on. On Nov. 4, our region ...