POCAHONTAS — The scope of the School To Work program in the Pocahontas Area Community School District is about to take some major steps forward by fall 2026, after the district was among a select few to get a state education grant. Kristyn Olson led writing the grant proposal. In ...

Continuing a recent theme of improvements and positives over the past few years, East Sac County Community School District Superintendent Nathan Hemiller views the future with optimism. “It’s been a lot of work to get where we are, which myself and others in the district are happy about, ...

WEBSTER CITY — In a recent conversation with Jama Hisler, director of teaching and learning for the Webster City Community School District, and later with the new high school Principal Jason Wedgbury, it was apparent that they are working hard on areas of concern. Some of those concerns ...

Southeast Valley High School students are taking their lessons beyond the classroom, gaining hands-on experience with real-world applications. Last fall, Jason Slinker, the district’s assistance maintenance director, began offering students the opportunity to learn practical skills outside ...

Two DG Market stores opened in Fort Dodge in 2025. The first of those stores, at 1149 Third Ave. N.W., opened in the spring. The second one, at 2210 N. 15th St., opened in the summer. DG Market is a grocery-focused part of the Dollar General chain. Including the Dollar General store at 1810 ...

Apartment living options in Fort Dodge are expected to grow this year, thanks to construction projects on the northwest and eastern sides of the city. A 65-unit apartment complex is planned along Third Avenue Northwest. The District 29 complex near Dodger Drive and 29th Street will grow, ...

The Kwik Star convenience store at Second Avenue North and 15th Street will be replaced by a new larger, version in a project scheduled for this year. The new store will measure 7,320 square feet, according to information presented to the city’s Plan and Zoning Commission. It will have ...

Back in 1953, two Fort Dodge men established Pederson-Sells Equipment Co. to sell hydraulic equipment to farmers and agribusinesses. In April 2025, FORCE America Inc., the modern version of that company, formally broke ground for a 32,000-square-foot facility that will meet the needs of the ...

In the Fort Dodge Fire Department, there were a lot of new changes in 2025. New leadership. New personnel. New vehicles. As the department moves into 2026, it anticipates the delivery of a major new unit called a tower ladder. And it awaits its share of the revenue from the new tax to ...

The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is marking 20 years of caring for patients this year. This center grew from free clinics held in local churches. In April 2006, today’s Community Health Center began operating as a federally qualified health center. That designation means it accepts ...

SAC CITY — Loring Hospital in Sac City got a lot larger last year. A 42,000-square-foot addition was constructed over the course of about a year and a half. The new space houses rehabilitation, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation, the specialty clinic, diabetes and nutrition services, and ...

In March 2025, the voters of Webster County decided that emergency medical service should be an essential service, supported by its own property tax. Nearly a year later, the processes and agreements are being put in place to channel the revenue from that tax to the county’s ambulance ...