-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Downtown Country Jam headliner Joe Nichols performs for the audience Sept. 28 in Fort Dodge, while the circles of light are projected onto the wall of First Interstate Bank.

-Photo by Julie Vinsand
Malia Urban and Grant Farnham, alongside Taylor Willardson and Blessing Cunnigan, hold candles to honor their friend and classmate, Michele "Luna" Jackson, at a community candlelight vigil on Sept. 29 in Farnhamville. Jackson was murdered on Sept. 22.

-Messenger photo by Jane Curtis
Todd Taylor talks about his addiction recovery during an open house at Community & Family Resources in Webster City last week. The open house featured the new 14-bed men’s recovery unit at CFR’s 500 Fair Meadow Drive building. Michelle De La Riva, CFR executive director, is pictured in the background.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea Katelyn Gehlhausen, a ninth-grader at Fort Dodge Senior High School, displays an image of a human skull with the jaw bone highlighted as she demonstrates the capabilities of the school’s new anatomage table during an open house Tuesday evening.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Yenifer Rivas Moreno, of Cali, Colombia, right, demonstrates Latin dancing to her children, Cataleya Dieidonne Rivas, 6, of Colombia, center, Christopher Rivas, 12, of Colombia, and Yadiel Dieudonna Rivas, 8, on Wednesday at Iowa Central Community College.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Sydney Pokorny, center, the Cargill Fort Dodge Biotechnology Campus facility manager, cuts a red ribbon Wednesday to signify the opening of the company’s new corn syrup production facility. The multimillion dollar facility was added to the current Cargill plant in the Iowa Crossroads of Global Innovation ag industrial park west of Fort Dodge.

-Messenger photo by Bill Shea
Clayton Bills, left, a Republican candidate for the Webster County Board of Supervisors, listens as Supervisor Bob Thode, a Democrat, speaks during a candidates’ forum Thursday evening at Iowa Central Community College.

-Submitted photo
Laura Ludgate and Marilyn Moon check over developing tomato plants at the Master Gardener Community Garden in Fort Dodge. The produce from the garden is donated to area food pantries.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Royce Pederson, left, and Micah Flaherty, right, help Tate Balkenende with his bowtie before Fort Dodge Senior High's homecoming coronation on Friday inside the Dodger gymnasium. The trio represented three of the eight king candidates on the 2024 homecoming court.