“Obviously, we’d like to get through this whole pandemic,” Police Chief Roger Porter said. “A lot of things have fallen off in the last couple years — some of the community service programs … We just want to get back on track with that.”

The Fort Dodge Police Department gained seven new faces in 2021, bringing the department up to full strength.

New officers are Colton Monson, Korey Kasperbauer, Matthew English, Timothy Hopswood, Keegan Myers and Keegun Marsh. Former officer Matthew Meyer, who had left for a short time to work for the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, also returned to the Police Department.

“Obviously we lost a lot of good officers over the last year, but I think we’re very fortunate in the fact that we gained a lot of new ones too,” Public Information Officer Capt. Ryan Gruenberg said.

“They certainly worked their tail off in the last year, and I hope everybody in the community notices that and appreciates that.”

Porter echoed that sentiment.

“The amount of time and effort that our officers give on a daily basis for the city of Fort Dodge is remarkable, really,” he said. “They give their all and then some.”

Porter said, until recently, the department had been having issues remaining fully staffed.

“It was the biggest hurdle we have ever had, trying to find qualified people that actually want to work in this profession,” he said. “When I started, I think we had like 75 to 100 people testing for a job, and now you’re lucky if you get a handful there, then you have the background (check) and they have to get past physical agility.”

The Fort Dodge Police Department is in the process of upgrading its officer-worn body cameras. This is the first time the body cameras have been replaced since the department started its body camera program in March 2018.

“We ordered them in September or October, but they just got here not too long ago,” Gruenberg said. “They’re the same model as the previous ones, just the new version.”

The fleet of 12 marked vehicles driven by officers in the department received a facelift in 2021.

The vehicles now sport an all-black color scheme, a change from the more traditional black with white doors design.

The idea to redesign the look of the vehicles came from a couple of officers, Gruenberg said.

“At that point, we got some ideas put together and kind of were passing around different schemes to see what people thought of them,” he said.

The group eventually came up with three design finalists and had officers and department staff vote on their favorite design.

“They’re a lot more sleek-looking,” Gruenberg said.

The previous design used by the department included white vinyl covering the doors.

“(The vehicles) come from the factory all black,” Gruenberg said. “So for us to have the white and black color scheme, we had to wrap the doors in white vinyl and then put the black lettering on top of that.”

Because the new design omits the white vinyl wrapping, it is expected to save some money going forward, he added.

The redesign only affected the aesthetic of the vehicles and didn’t change any of the equipment or locations of lights, Gruenberg said.

“This is just kind of a facelift of the exterior,” he said.

The new look of the police vehicles also includes a special decal on the passenger side of the rear windshield to honor the late Rev. Al Henderson. Prior to his October 2019 death, Henderson served as the department’s chaplain.

“It’s kind of to symbolize him always being in the passenger seat, riding with us,” Gruenberg said.

Despite the challenges faced in 2020 and 2021, Porter is looking ahead at 2022 with optimism, hoping to bring back the Citizens Academy program and community picnics and other outreach events.

“Our future is pretty bright here,” he said.