It would be hard to imagine our society without pets. Dogs and cats contribute wonderfully to the happiness and well-being of people of all ages. In a perfect world, every pet would at all times be a welcome and loved part of someone’s home. Unfortunately, reality falls short of that ...

This is the time of the year when big, slow-moving farm vehicles rumble out onto roadways dominated by faster-paced traffic. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who lives in farm country. Even so, all of us should pay special heed to safety considerations as we share the roads with ...

Over the years, Hollywood has cranked out lots of scary movies featuring something awful lurking in the basement of an unsuspecting person’s home. In the real world of Iowa, there just may be something awful lurking in the basements of people’s homes. And unlike the ghosts and monsters of ...

Iowa’s lawmakers appear to be on the verge of raising the speed limit on the state’s two-lane highways. We think it’s a terrible idea and call on them to reject it. The bill now before the legislature would establish the default speed limit at 60 mph rather than the current 55 mph. But ...

The Community Health Center of Fort Dodge is built on this principle: everyone should get quality health care regardless of what kind of insurance they have or how much money they have in the bank. That’s a concept that seems so basic that no one should have to think about it. But in ...

It seems like a segment of the Fort Dodge population has surrendered its right to complain about any potential increase in the city property tax rate that may be coming. As it stands right now, the city’s property tax rate for the 2026-2027 fiscal year is set to go up by 14 cents per $1,000 ...