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Brady O’Brien Live says thank you

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: The Brady O'Brien Live REVIVAL Project Team would like to thank The Messenger, Eric Pratt and Britt Kudla for the great article, and all our sponsors who supported us in our first event. On July 6, 2024, we celebrated 445 Christians worshipping together as we listened to music from Brady O'Brien, Grace Casciato, Tammy Johnson and national contemporary Christian recording artist Ryan Stevenson at the Laramar Ballroom. Please mark your calendars for Brady O'Brien Live's upcoming events. Thursday, Aug. 1: Ronald McDonald House Special Event at the Laramar ...

There are many reasons to be a member of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance

Local Columns

Joining the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance offers numerous benefits for organizations and businesses looking to grow and thrive in the Fort Dodge area. Here are some key reasons why membership can be advantageous. Networking opportunities. Members have access to a wide range of networking events, such as our quarterly Member Meet & Eat luncheons and quarterly Leading Ladies of Fort Dodge programs, and ribbon-cuttings, which provide opportunities to connect with other local business leaders and potential clients. Advocacy and representation. The Growth Alliance serves as a voice ...

Webster City, Van Diest Supply team up on water tower project

Editorial

There are lessons to be learned in building a community. This one stands out: We must work together. An example of this is the recent collaboration between the City of Webster City and Van Diest Supply Co. Together, they will build and maintain a new 250,000-gallon water tower near Van Diest Supply Co.’s factory complex west of Webster City. The company will pay for the design and construction of the new tower, with the City of Webster City assuming normal maintenance and operating costs, estimated at $5,000 to $15,000 a year. The city learned last fall that Van Diest’s ...

Reining in Washington’s overreach

Local Columns

Our government is supposed to be “by the people and for the people.” Unfortunately, an obscure Supreme Court decision made four decades ago effectively handcuffed citizens and paved the way for unelected bureaucrats to extend the long arm of government into nearly every aspect of Iowans’ lives. The Chevron deference doctrine, as it became known following the 1984 ruling, gave federal agencies the power to exploit ambiguities in laws passed by Congress to grant themselves sweeping authority. If citizens sued in response, the doctrine required courts to always side with ...

State softball returns to Fort Dodge

Editorial

This annual state tournament is a highlight of the summer season One of summer’s most enjoyable events gets underway today. The Girls State Softball Tournament will be the highlight of the season for the teams that made it to state-level competition, including the Fort Dodge Dodgers and St. Edmond Gaels. All the teams are outstanding. Making it to this final event of the season means that none will have any reason for more than a brief lament, no matter what their final standing. Making it to state is itself an accomplishment that marks a season as one to remember with pride. This ...

Only American citizens should be allowed to vote in American elections

Local Columns

The right to vote forms the bedrock of our democratic republic and gives an important voice to the people — of which, by which, and for which our country was established, and President Lincoln so eloquently put during his Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863. Men and women in uniform have sacrificed their own lives to ensure that our nation could be free and that we all have the right to participate in our system of government. We can never forget their sacrifice nor take for granted the liberties and freedoms that we enjoy as Americans. The right to vote is also a unique privilege ...