The City Council approved the bonus plan unanimously without discussion on Dec. 22.

The signing bonus, which will range from $2,500 to $10,000, will be available from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026.

In a report to the council, city Human Resources Director Jamie Anderson wrote, “The program authorizes sign-on bonuses for newly hired full-time sworn officers, including both certified and non-certified candidates, as well as referral bonuses for city employees who assist in successful recruitment efforts.”

Officers who are already certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy would be eligible for the biggest bonuses. Anderson wrote that it costs the city about $10,000 to send a new officer through the academy.

The bonus would be paid in installments.

An officer who received a bonus would have to serve Fort Dodge for at least five years, or they would have to pay back part of the bonus.

In her report, Anderson summed up the police officer hiring challenge the city faces. She said in 2015, a single civil service exam produced 13 eligible candidates. Recently, she wrote, civil service exams only produce a small number of candidates. A police civil service list approved by the council in December has three names on it.

For the Fort Dodge Police Department, 2025 saw the return of the mobile speed camera units and several promotions.

Fort Dodge has used a mobile camera system for speed enforcement since September 2011. Use of speed cameras has been controversial within the state legislature, however. In 2024, a measure was passed and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds that put the brakes on such systems. That law suspended the use of them and required communities to submit a list of proposed locations where they would be set up.

The Fort Dodge Police Department submitted its proposal to the state and was the first agency in Iowa to get all of its proposed speed camera locations approved.

The speed camera units returned to Fort Dodge streets in February 2025.

The department experienced a number of promotions over the last year.

Capt. Steve Hanson left to become police chief in Webster City. To replace him, Matt Lundberg was promoted from lieutenant to captain. Then Nathan Wolfe was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and Keegun Marsh was promoted from detective to sergeant.

Later in the year, Andrew Lane was promoted from patrol officer to sergeant.

Lt. Matt Wilson retired earlier this month after 29 years of service.

His departure led to two more promotions. Matt Webb was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant, and Allie Thompson was promoted from detective to sergeant.

Mitch Leyk, Lucas Segebart and Mason Steinberger joined the force as new patrol officers in 2025.