FARNHAMVILLE — What is the secret behind most successful small businesses? Family. While some of these businesses don’t last beyond the first generation or two, a Farnhamville-based tiling and excavating company is helping a new generation of young families to grow their future in rural ...

ROCKWELL CITY — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig celebrated two area fuel retailers recently by awarding them both with 2025 Renewable Fuels Marketing Awards. Sparky’s One Stop, a chain of convenience stores throughout western and northwest Iowa, along with Pro Cooperative, a ...

TERRIL — Improvements at Pro Cooperative in Terril have yielded a new agronomy complex and office, streamlined traffic flow in and out of (and throughout) the elevator grounds, put the scale system under roof, and centralized company operations. These renovations began in the fall of 2023 ...

GOWRIE — Drones continue to revolutionize crop production and help farmers boost their profit potential — and a Gowrie-based company has been on the leading edge of this new frontier from the start. “We’ve come a long ways in a short time,” said Duane Davis, founder of SkyDronesUSA, ...

With a touch of her pen, Katelyn Gehlhausen moved, turned and inverted a striking three-dimensional image of a human skull during an October demonstration in a Fort Dodge Senior High School classroom. That was all done on a tabletop that is essentially a computer screen. And revealing the ...

GOWRIE — Some Southeast Valley High School students got out of the classroom and into the greenhouse last fall. The Southeast Valley Community School District recently purchased the former Foxtail Floral greenhouse along with an attached retail shop and home to give students hands-on, ...

For some students, sinking a couple of free throws or spiking a ball over the volleyball net is part of their experience at Community Christian School in Fort Dodge. The school is known for offering a Christ-centered education. The fact that it offers students the chance to participate in ...

For the first time in more than a decade, the Fort Dodge Community School District has unveiled a new vision statement and mission statement. The new vision is “Everyone matters, everyone belongs, and everyone thrives in Fort Dodge Community School District.” The new mission for the ...

Greg and Ann Larson have a love of experimentation. And Fort Dodge area beer lovers couldn’t be happier. The new owners of River Hops Brewing, located downtown at 1014 Central Ave., are keeping what former owners Ron and Diane Grebner started and adding some of their own creations. Twenty ...

A newly released study shows a healthy demand for new homes in Fort Dodge in the next five years. Astra Ferris, chief executive officer of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, presented a summary of the study’s results to the City Council. It shows a need for 226 new homes in the city ...

A new dealer of off-highway vehicles and motorcycles is welcoming customers in Fort Dodge. RJ Power Sports, a dealer of Polaris, Kawasaki and CF Moto products, is located at Fifth Avenue South and Webster County Road P59. “People have welcomed us very well,” said Hunter McCoy, co-owner of ...

Every day, people can be seen going in and out of the three newest stores in Corridor Plaza — Dunham’s Sports, Shoe Sensation and Maurice’s. Not far away from those stores, the finishing touches are being put on the new Chick-fil-A restaurant. “Our vision for Chick-fil-A Fort Dodge is ...

The Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way continue to work to meet local needs. The United Way strives to meet the soaring demand from families pushed into poverty by rising inflation. “Our No. 1 priority and our focus is on helping families that are impoverished,” said Randy ...

During his years as a pastor and chaplain to local firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel, the Rev. Al Henderson made an unforgettable impact. Serving Our Servants, the group he started to support those first responders, is now working on a project that will ...

The staff of Visit Fort Dodge knows all about the cool things to see and do locally. Their mission is to make sure the rest of the state and nation know about them, too. Sports and the outdoors are key features that draw people to Fort Dodge and Webster County, according to Kerrie Kuiper, the ...

The new hot spot in Fort Dodge for skateboarders and kids on scooters is an assembly of concrete and steel just yards away from the Des Moines River. And while it’s called a skate park, this new addition to the local recreation scene isn’t limited to those on skateboards and rollerskates. ...

UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge is always on the lookout for new talent to meet the demand for health care workers. That is why it developed a paid summer internship program that high school juniors and seniors can participate in along with college students. “We know that health care ...

LAKE CITY — For any mother, each pregnancy comes with its own challenges. That’s why Paige Hepp was grateful to work with the obstetrics (OB) team at Stewart Memorial Community Hospital in Lake City. “I had some complications during my pregnancy with my second son,” said Hepp, 29, of ...

If it seemed like Fort Dodge police officers were at all kinds of events and activities during 2024, it is because they were at all kinds of events and activities. “To continue to build relationships within the community, the Fort Dodge Police Department took part in a large number of ...

Historically, Webster County tends to lean toward being one of the top five counties in the state with sexually transmitted diseases, especially chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. However, a more than half-million dollar grant awarded to the Webster County Health Department will allow ...

ROCKWELL CITY — As ongoing community projects continue in varying stages, new leadership has taken shape in Rockwell City. Phil Heinlen, who had been mayor for more than 20 years, died in late 2024. There is also a new city clerk, as Kelly Smidt resigned and Deputy Clerk Samantha McFarland ...

MANSON — Manson has a degree of acclaim due to a meteor that struck an estimated 74 million years ago, creating what’s known as the Manson impact crater. The NASA website says the crater, which is about 35 kilometers in diameter, is the largest impact crater recognized in the United ...

WEBSTER CITY — From a young age, drinking alcohol was normal for Todd Taylor because his grandfather owned a bar. Taylor was about 12 when he first started drinking. Unfortunately, that translated to addiction, and that addiction, he told an audience last summer, eventually led him to ...

GOWRIE — The Gowrie Development Commission alongside the Webster County Board of Supervisors and Webster County Conservation Department are “putting the go in Gowrie” with a new trail project that will allow travel residents to bike, walk, and run from one side of Gowrie to the other, and ...