Opinion

For Fort Dodge, good things are coming on the housing front

Editorial October 4, 2025

The Fort Dodge community recently received a big vote of confidence from the state officials in charge of housing incentives. Those officials awarded about $1.8 million in tax credits for two construction projects: one at District 29 on the city’s east side and a new apartment complex planned along Third Avenue Northwest. District 29 received $1 million, one of the largest tax credit awards in the state, for 49 new townhome units to be built south of the existing buildings near Dodger Drive and 29th Street. Construction of District 29 began in 2020, and the first phase was ...

Tom and Joan Tibbitts have served Fort Dodge community for 51 years

Local Columns October 4, 2025

What are the odds that a couple celebrates 60 years of marriage in the same year they both reached 80 years of age? Infinitesimally slim, to be sure. Joan and Tom Tibbitts celebrated both milestones earlier this year, but a third milestone number they achieved turns out to be the most ...

Supports Moss for City Council

Letters to the Editor October 4, 2025

To the editor: I am composing this letter to show my support for Jeanette Moss who is running for City Council in Ward 3. I met Jeanette at Community and Family Resources in 2018 when I was beginning my sobriety journey. Jeanette herself was a couple of years in her journey, and she was bringing in a support meeting from the outside to encourage others. You know how they say there are pivotal moments, or people who come into your life at just the right time? Jeanette was one of those people for me. When she came into the treatment center, there was an air about her that contained ...

Soybeans are big business in Iowa

Editorial September 29, 2025

Nobody knows exactly how long humans have cultivated the soybean, but agricultural historians seem quite certain its domestication as a crop in China dates back three millennia. There are actually Chinese records documenting soybean growth as far back as the 11th century. There is some disagreement about who first introduced soybeans into North America, but researchers seem to agree that by the 1760s, soybean seed had reached Georgia. Whatever the origin, few would dispute that in the 21st century, soybean cultivation is important to the world as a food source and a great deal more. ...

Armstrong Park deserves better

Letters to the Editor September 29, 2025

To the editor: For over 28 years, I have had the privilege of living across from Armstrong Park. I’ve seen neighbors cast fishing lines into the pond, children running along the banks, and families gathering to picnic and enjoy nature. Armstrong Park has always been more than just land and water — it is a vital part of our community’s identity and quality of life. That is why it breaks my heart to see the park fall into decline. Since the reconstruction project began in June of 2020, what was meant to restore and protect the pond has instead been left to deteriorate. The fore ...

Bureaucrats being paid for multiple jobs, while doing none

Local Columns September 29, 2025

Ever had to be in two places at the exact same time? It sounds impossible, yet I’ve discovered a number of bureaucrats holding several different government jobs simultaneously. It may sound impressive, except this multitasking isn’t magic, folks, it’s fraud. A full-time Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) employee was being paid for two other full-time government contractor jobs, frequently billing taxpayers for more than 24 hours of work in a single day. Of course, she was working from home in all three positions. She billed taxpayers $225,866 for hours she ...