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The Christmas spirit of giving should continue throughout the year

Editorial

Every year around the holidays, the generosity of people who live in and around Fort Dodge blossoms. The familiar red kettles of The Salvation Army get filled with change by people going in and out of stores. Donations flow for initiatives like Bikes for Tykes. Those are some of the best-known helping campaigns in the Fort Dodge area that ramp up at Christmas time, and we know there are a lot of others out there as well. The holiday season is now over. Several charitable programs have gone dormant until next Christmas. But the need is still there. Hunger, sickness, poverty and ...

Transition of power

Editorial

One of the things that makes American democracy unique took place at the Fort Dodge Municipal Building Friday morning. There, in a brief ceremony, a peaceful and seamless transition of authority occurred when a new mayor, three new members of the City Council and three reelected council members were sworn into office by Magistrate Neven Conrad. The new mayor is Dave Flattery, a veteran of 18 years on the council. The new council members are Scott Davis and Terry Moehnke, who hold at-large seats, and Todd McCubbin, who represents Ward 3. Moehnke is actually returning to the council ...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2026

Editorial

Soon, we will welcome in a new year. Tonight, no doubt many readers will stay home, joining the ranks of those sitting on the couch, counting down the final moments of 2025 while participating vicariously in the festivities broadcast from Times Square in New York City. Others will celebrate the passing of another year by making merry until the wee hours of the new year. And yet others will let the new year come in just as they let each new day, week or month arrive — snugly tucked into bed getting some sleep. There is no right or wrong way to mark the arrival of another year. ...

Delivering high-quality, affordable health care for Iowans

Local Columns

As a father of four and former volunteer EMT for 15 years in my hometown of Hull, I know the vital importance of affordable and accessible health care for Iowa families, particularly our neighbors in rural Iowa. Traveling across our district, I’ve had countless conversations with Iowans about the skyrocketing cost of health care and declining access to care in rural communities. Iowans are paying too much for routine checkups and prescription drugs and traveling long distances for doctor’s appointments and emergency care. It’s unsustainable and must change. Fortunately, on ...

Enjoy a festive holiday season

Editorial

It is that time of year when holiday parties pile up one after the other over the course of a few days — and many of them are held after dark and feature alcoholic beverages. Everyone wants to get to and from all these gatherings safely. No one wants to be added to the grim table of statistics compiled by the Iowa Department of Transportation which records all of the deaths resulting from traffic accidents. The good news is that 2025 has been a comparatively safe one on Iowa’s roads. For the first time in a century, the state is on track to conclude a year with less than 300 ...