Back then, the youngster and his mother were visiting his grandmother Evelyn Hood, the county recorder, when Habhab strode into her office on business. He said, “Evelyn, who is this young fella?” to which Matt sprung to his feet, stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Matt Bemrich, nice to meet you.”

His mother and grandmother were stunned by the greeting from a normally shy young man, but not Habhab, who replied, “Well, Evelyn, it seems to me you’re training this one to be governor one day.”

Habhab had an innate ability to look into the future and may have guessed wrong on Bemrich’s future as a governor, but even he could not have predicted that the youngster he met that day would grow up to be elected as mayor of Fort Dodge and would surpass his own record tenure of 14 consecutive years as mayor.

Bemrich, 50, is now serving in his 15th year as mayor — elected by Fort Dodge voters four times to the position (2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021), twice without opposition).

In early February, Bemrich told the story of that long-ago chance meeting during a celebration of life for Habhab at Friendship Haven. Habhab, a decorated World War II veteran, died Jan. 27 at the age of 98 and had served as mayor (1960-1974), district court judge (1975-1988) and Iowa Court of Appeals judge (1988-1997). Another who also spoke at the celebration of Habhab’s life was former Gov. Terry Branstad, who had appointed Habhab to the state appellate court.

“I take somber pride in this achievement,” Bemrich said of his mayoral longevity record. “I would have loved it if he could have been around a little longer. He’s well-recognized, even in my generation, for the impact he made to the city that even today affects my generation and probably the next one. To be in the same office he was, it is humbling, and it makes you feel a lot of pride.

“He was a good mentor. I called him often over the years. He had a way of getting you to the answer without telling you what to do. I at one time took a lot of grief on roundabouts. We talked about it a bit. He had a way of telling you, you know what to do, without really telling you.”

The name Bemrich is a familiar one in Fort Dodge business circles. Bemrich Electric and Telephone was founded 40 years ago this spring, on April 1, 1984, by Matt Bemrich’s grandparents, Jim and Patricia Bemrich, who started the business out of their home in the Savage Addition. It provides electrical construction work to industry, commercial and residential facilities and data communications to small businesses. A celebration of its 40 years in business will be held June 20.

They bought a building at 110 South 21st Street in 1986, after Bemrich’s father Greg had joined the business, followed by Greg’s brother, Jamie. Matt joined them in 1997 while taking classes at Iowa Central Community College and working on the night cleanup crew at Fort Dodge Laboratories and earlier part-time work as a bartender and a short-lived try at selling insurance — “It was not my calling,” he said. Bemrich then completed training at the Iowa Electrical Apprenticeship Training Center in Des Moines, becoming a master electrician.

A fire caused by arson destroyed the building in 2013, but it was rebuilt in the same location. Today, Bemrich Electric has 32 full-time employees. Greg Bemrich retired as president two years ago and was succeeded by son Matt. Matt and Greg’s younger brother Jamie are co-owners; Matt is president and Jamie vice president.

Matt Bemrich is a lifelong resident of Fort Dodge. Born Sept. 8, 1973, he was told by his mother that he was the last baby born at Mercy Hospital before it merged with Lutheran Hospital. Bemrich is the oldest of the four children of Sue (Hood) and Greg Bemrich, who were St, Edmond High School Class of 1973 classmates and have been married 50 years. Matt’s brother Mitchell is national account manager for Implus in Chicago and is married to Rebecca, director of integrated marketing for Coca Cola; sister Jennifer Dutcher is an assistant professor and coordinator of visual arts at Iowa Central and is married to Matt Dutcher, president of Northwest Bank in Fort Dodge, and sister Jessica Smith is married to Ryan Smith, president of Kingsgate Insurance Co. in Fort Dodge; she likes to be known as the COO of their home.

Bemrich and his wife Michelle are St. Edmond graduates, she in 1991 and he a year later. They met in kindergarten at Holy Rosary School. She is industrial pretreatment coordinator for U.S. Water Services. They have three sons: Carter, 25, who works for Vanguard Utility Partners; Jackson, 22, a front-office assistant at Bemrich Electric, and Grant, 21, who operates his own music business. Bemrich got his start in local government by serving on a panel that recommended switching from a strong mayor form of government to the current city manager form. That change was approved by the voters in a 2005 referendum.

David Fierke was appointed the first city manager of Fort Dodge and continues in that position today — his tenure coinciding with that of Bemrich who in November 2005 was elected to a four-year term as an at-large member of the council.

As mayor, Bemrich is the face of the city and reports to its citizens. As city manager, Fierke reports to the City Council.

Bemrich presides over City Council meetings (the council meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month), and he and Fierke and most department heads also attend. “I have a voice, but not a vote,” Bemrich said, although he does have veto power, one he exercised most recently when the council proposed increasing his salary from $15,000 to $17,000.

As city manager, Fierke manages the day-to-day operations of the city and works to facilitate the vision of the council and the mayor. He and Bemrich consult frequently, and Bemrich also is in frequent touch with the police chief since he has emergency powers in such events as tornadoes or flooding.

“I have a lot of fond memories of being mayor,” Bemrich said. “There were many fun events. Multiple Groundhog Days at the zoo, I always liked going to schools to read to the kids. But I don’t want my legacy to be having garbage pickup changed from Tuesdays to Thursdays.

“I am proud of progress made in redeveloping the Crossroads Mall area, of our work out west with the ag park. I’m proud of jobs created, a significantly increased average wage in Webster County. Of helping local industry grow, of being a good advocate of helping businesses grow. Of the expansion of the water plant and creating the stormwater utility. Maybe my biggest legacy — helping change the form of city government.”

The mayor bristles when the image of the city is sometimes portrayed poorly, especially on social media.

“I think it’s an unfair representation of our community,” he said. “Fort Dodge has certainly evolved and changed, but I don’t think all the changes are bad. I think most residents are proud to be living in Fort Dodge, or to be from Fort Dodge. You see it in our change in government, you see it in our sports, in our volunteerism. PICA (Pride in Community Appearance) just broke 50,000 hours in volunteer hours. If we were such a bad place, would people be willing to give 50,000 hours to community service? No. The Dirty Dodge tagline? We’re definitely tough because we can take it. Do we deserve to be known as tough? Yes. But do we deserve the stigma of being dirty? No.”

Bemrich’s mayoral term will continue through the end of 2025. “I pretty much have made it clear that I will retire after 20 years of service to the city — four on the council and 16 as mayor. In our political climate, there are not enough people who are willing to step to the side and let others get involved in serving. This brings a change in ideas and passions.”

Bemrich recently was named to the Friendship Haven board, an addition welcomed by president and CEO Julie Thorson, who said, “I have a great deal of respect for Mayor Matt Bemrich. The word that comes to mind immediately is courage. For years he has put himself out there and made a stand because he believes in Fort Dodge. I admire his tenacity and work ethic. I’m proud to have him serve on the Friendship Haven board. Our residents and leadership team will absolutely benefit from his experience and leadership expertise.”

Bemrich plans to continue on several other boards — among them, Joy of Reading, Iowa National Electrical Contractors Association and Iowa Associated Business and Industry, along with passions of golfing, hunting and fishing. He and his father traveled in their van to South Dakota for a number of years to pheasant hunt.

He will always look back with pride at one accomplishment that involved honoring and preserving the name of his friend and mentor Al Habhab.

Bemrich played a key role in the City Council’s decision to rename the busy bridge on First Avenue South, known for 55 years as Veterans Bridge and built when Habhab was the city’s mayor, in honor of Habhab.

Just months before his death, Habhab was on hand at St. Edmond High School on Nov. 10 when it was announced that the bridge would be renamed to the Albert Habhab Veterans Memorial Bridge. At his side was Mayor Bemrich, that youngster who impressed Habhab when he was 3, as the audience rose to give Habhab a standing ovation. On the following Monday, the City Council unanimously approved the name change.

That event was the last time Bemrich saw Habhab, whose health began to deteriorate in the weeks leading to his death.

“I had planned to go see him with some samples of the bridge design showing the enhancements,” Bemrich said, “but he passed away before we could do that. When I received the call that he passed, I felt like a lot of knowledge had left us and I started to think of the questions I might have asked him if I had a chance to sit with him again. The one certainty I had was that Fort Dodge would forever be better because he gave us his time and talents.”