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Editorial

Unsung heroes keep our schools functioning

A new school year is fully underway. We’re guessing that students all across the area went back to school filled with a mix of excitement and maybe a little anxiety. The same might be true of their parents, especially parents of the youngest children going to school for the first time. Their teachers were waiting for all those kids when they walked into school for that first day of classes. It is easy to view teachers as the central figures in the American education system. They are entrusted with preparing our children for the future by helping them to gain knowledge, skills and ...

Dayton Rodeo fun has started

The roping and riding that will make up the 2026 edition of the Dayton Labor Day Rodeo will start Friday night and continue through Monday. The small Webster County city will be packed with rodeo fans all weekend. What began more than eight decades ago as the dream of three young cowboys — Allen Porter, Duane Vegors and Vern Danielson — has grown to a four-day event that draws contestants and spectators not only from all parts of Iowa, but also from throughout the nation. This annual event attracts 10,000 to 12,000 rodeo fans, many of whom journey every year to Webster County ...

New Backpack Buddies program needed

For 14 years, thousands of local kids relied on a unique program to keep their tummies full with good food on the weekends throughout the school year. Each Friday they picked up a backpack, or in later years, a bag, filled with nutritious food. That food was courtesy of a program called Backpack Buddies and it was vital for them because of their families' economic situations. They relied on school breakfasts and lunches during the week for nutritious meals. But the weekends were another story. On Saturdays and Sundays, they may not have gotten much to eat at all and what they did get ...

Setting the example with civility

In Fort Dodge and Webster County we are fortunate to always have people who are ready and willing to take on community leadership roles, many of which are pretty thankless tasks. Recently, we saw another example of this when Craig Schlienz agreed to accept a position on the Iowa Central Community College Board of Trustees to replace the late Mark Crimmins. Clearly, the college’s board is not as high profile as the Fort Dodge City Council or the Webster County Board of Supervisors. But providing oversight to an institution that has nearly 1,200 students living on the main Fort ...

River cleanup yields heaps of waste

Balancing a big tire or a bag of garbage on a canoe and then paddling that canoe downstream without capsizing requires some skill. Fortunately, some of the volunteers who took part in Saturday’s Des Moines River cleanup effort had the necessary skills to do just that. It is unfortunate, however, that the volunteers' strength and canoeing skill had to be applied to such a task. A tire — or any other kind of junk — should never be in a river. On Saturday, about 25 volunteers took part in the cleanup organized by Webster County Conservation. The group included some members of ...

Schools are starting — drive safely

Even though the calendar shows another month of summer to be enjoyed, for students and teachers, vacation days are ending. All across our area, they are heading back to school. Classes at St. Edmond Catholic School and the Manson Northwest Webster School District begin today. The fall semester at Iowa Central Community College also begins today. And Wednesday is the first day of classes in the Fort Dodge Community School District. The first day of classes means a new school year full of learning, activities and opportunities is beginning. It also means that at certain times in ...