News and Events

Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services

Monday, November 18, 2019

Mark Timothy Mettler with Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services recently received his Funeral Director License from the State of Iowa. Mark relocated from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to join Gunderson’s in September of 2018 for his funeral internship. Mark is a graduate of Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids and then went on to get his Business Administration Degree from Mount Mercy University. He graduated from the Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in 2018 with his Mortuary Degree. Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services is the ultimate provider of creating healing experiences in the community for over 50 years. Their crematory was the first onsite service i...

Board Member Spotlight: Kathryn Kunert, Vice President, Economic Connections and Integration MidAmerican Energy

Friday, November 15, 2019

MidAmerican Energy – Proudly and Safely Serving your Energy Needs Kathryn Kunert, Vice President, Economic Connections and Integration, MidAmerican Energy At MidAmerican Energy, “obsessively, relentlessly at your service” is more than just a tagline -- it truly defines who we are as a company. We are proud to serve the greater Ft. Dodge community with affordable and increasingly renewable electric and natural gas service. But that’s not all. Being obsessively, relentlessly at your service also means investing in our energy infrastructure so we can provide safe and reliable service to our customers each and every day. That’s why we have a companywide initiative...

Support Local Fort Dodge Businesses with Your Shopping Dollars

Monday, November 11, 2019

Fort Dodge is home to thriving small businesses and an active downtown business association. Fort Dodge has several shopping districts, including at and around the Crossroads Mall and in Downtown Fort Dodge. Walking down Main Street, residents and visitors are likely to be greeted by old friends and colleagues while grabbing a pint at River Hops Brewing or dining at one of our fabulous restaurants. When looking for the latest fashion or the perfect birthday gift, shoppers find that local business owners are friendly, helpful and offer amazing customer service. This all makes for an incredible experience – one tha...

The Bio-chemical and Bio-tech Sectors are Growing in Greater Fort Dodge

Monday, November 11, 2019

Bio-chemical and Bio-tech components impact many aspects of Webster County and the regional economy. Pharmaceutical and Medicine manufacturing, when combined with Basic Chemical manufacturing, made up 65% of Webster County’s Gross Regional Product in 2018 according to (EMSI) The U.S. census Bureau and National Association of Manufacturers. Seven miles west of Fort Dodge is the Iowa Crossroads of Global Innovation (ICGI), where many of these companies are located. ICGI houses global innovators such as Cargill, CJ Bio America, and Valero. The industrial center has over 500 acres of land available for development and is an Iowa Economic Development Authority certified sit...

Angels of Love back at Trinity

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

Kelby Wingert The Friends of UnityPoint Health — Fort Dodge has started its annual Angels of Love fundraiser for the holiday season. This is the 19th year for the fundraiser project. Each year, the Trinity Gifts shop has angel ornaments available for purchase with a $10 minimum donation. The purchase can be made in memory of or in honor of a loved one. There will be a display board in the Trinity Regional Medical Center atrium lobby where the honorees’ names will be listed alphabetically by donor’s last name. “For 19 years, we’ve been able to specifically fundraise for one particular project tha...

New future envisioned

Monday, November 04, 2019

Bill Shea The Crossroads Mall in Fort Dodge will be torn down and replaced with a series of smaller stores, an office building and a hotel under a plan unveiled by an Ankeny developer. The project will take several years to complete, but the former Sears store at the mall may be demolished by the end of this year. That plan is the vision of Crossroads Plaza Development LLC. That firm is in the process of buying both the mall and the old Sears store, which is actually a separate property with a different owner. In August, city officials revealed that a developer ha...

Active Health expands

Sunday, November 03, 2019

Chad Thompson Brothers Dr. Zach Mason, left, and Dr. Josh Mason, pose in front of some new signage at Active Health Clinics, 20 N. 29th St. The brothers are co-owners of the practice. One of the goals at Active Health Clinics is to help people live their best life, according to Dr. Josh Mason. And one of the ways the Fort Dodge clinic is hoping to accomplish that goal is through a method called regenerative medicine. “Active Health is always willing to help our patients live their best life,” said Mason, who co-owns the practice with his brother, Dr. Zach Mason. “With the expansio...

Board Member Spotlight: Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota

Friday, October 25, 2019

Fort Dodge Ford Lincoln Toyota has been a part of our community since 1996, when Deb and Casey Johnson opened the dealership at 11 N 25th St. Before long a bigger space was needed, and in 2002 they acquired a large parcel of land along the Corridor of Commerce on Fifth Avenue South. The doors opened in 2003, and the business has since grown into a family affair that includes their sons Matt and his wife Abigail, along with their daughter Isabella, and Nick and his wife, Jordan. In 2012, the Johnsons expanded to the Ames-Nevada market. Ames Ford Lincoln sell...

C & S Products is a legend in manufacturing

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Chad Thompson Fort Dodge-based C & S Products was recently named one of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry’s Legends in Manufacturing. And Karen Alstott, who co-founded the company along with her husband Kevin Alstott in 1986, said the company’s success is directly attributed to its people. “We have a lot of good people out there,” Alstott said. “That’s why we are where we are. We have common goals and that keep us moving up the ladder.” C & S Products Co. Inc., a producer of wild bird food, employs less than 100 people. The company distributes throughout the United States, Canada an...

Broadband issues aired at forum

Friday, October 18, 2019

Bill Shea Mediacom representatives defended their company’s broadband service Thursday evening while Fort Dodge City Manager David Fierke explained an upcoming vote that may allow the local government to set up a telecommunications utility to compete with the private ones. ”What we provide today is on par with any other broadband technology, and we’re moving further ahead from where we are today and we’re moving there very quickly,” said Phyllis Peters, communications director for Mediacom. She and Jeff Anifison, the company’s area operations director for Fort Dodge, were also on the receiving end of complaints from customers angry about slow internet service an...

YWCA hosting annual Silver Showcase on Saturday

Friday, October 18, 2019

Kelby Wingert The YWCA of Fort Dodge will host its annual Silver Showcase at Willow Ridge on Saturday. Doors open at 5 p.m. with a silent auction running from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and a program from 7 to 7:30 p.m., with a live auction to follow. Guests can purchase tickets at the YWCA, from any YWCA board member and at the door. Tickets are $25. “This is our biggest fundraiser that contributes most significantly to our ability to stay open and part of the Fort Dodge community,” said YWCA Executive Director Mandi Crouse Kelly. The funds raised will go toward supporting the projects an...

Family business continues decades after Daniel came to FD

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Chad Thompson It’s entirely possible that Steve Daniel’s grandfather ended up in Fort Dodge by mistake around the turn of the 20th century. Daniel’s grandfather, Ferris Daniel, immigrated from Lebanon to the United States in the early 1900s. “He came in through Ellis Island and went on to Oklahoma City,” said Steve Daniel, owner of Daniel Tire. “And for some reason he wanted to be in Iowa.” More specifically, Ferris Daniel wanted to get to Alta, perhaps for a business opportunity. But Steve Daniel said his grandfather didn’t know the English language very well at the time. So somewhere along his journey to the Midwest, on...

The bigger picture

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Chad Thompson Troy Schroeder, owner of Memories in Focus, glances out of the corner of his eye as he holds his camera. Troy Schroeder never imagined that he would end up photographing people for a living. “I got into photography to photograph more of the art landscape side of it,” Schroeder, of Fort Dodge, said from his studio, Memories in Focus. “I wanted to sell my work.” But when he found out more about the industry, Schroeder learned that a very small percentage of photographers profit from landscape work. His talents were redirected when he was asked to photograph weddings and senior portraits. “It started on...

Achieving her design

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Chad Thompson When Maddie Lind became the owner of Creative Signs and Graphics in the summer of 2017, she thought pretty hard about changing the name of the 20-year-old business. But Lind, who had worked for the previous owners Mike and Gina Cone since 2013, ultimately decided not to. “When I took over I really wanted to change the name, too,” said Lind, a 2009 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate. “But I know the blood, sweat and tears that the previous owners put into this place. I am proud to carry that on and see what else we can do with it an...

History for the future

Friday, September 13, 2019

Hans Madsen Members of the Leadership Fort Dodge 2019-20 Class got a look at some of Fort Dodge’s rich history and a preserved historic home Thursday during the first of their nine monthly sessions. The series of daylong learning sessions, sponsored by the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance, will each focus on a different aspect of the community. Jill Nelson, community development director for the Growth Alliance, said the program has several goals. “We’re hoping that throughout the program they find an area that they’re really into that they can get involved and get engaged with,” Nelson said. “We hope they take on leadershi...

Motocross and tiny houses

Friday, September 13, 2019

Hans Madsen The Webster County Conservation open house at the Gypsum City OHV Park had a most unwelcome visitor Thursday afternoon that was most certainly not on the guest list — several waves of torrential rain. While the rain might have soaked the ground and caused the cancellation of the hay ride tours, it did nothing to dampen the spirit of Webster County Conservation Director Matt Cosgrove. One of the first improvements at the park that greets visitors is a overhaul of the original motocross track. “We hired Cody Rodenborn,” Cosgrove said. “He took a week of vacation time and freshened it up.” The work...

How Community Giving is Making a Difference in Fort Dodge

Monday, September 09, 2019

Fort Dodge residents and businesses are incredibly generous with their time and money. The Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance exists because our investors believe that everyone benefits from a strong local economy. We are not the only organization who benefits from the generous support of the community. The Fort Dodge Community Foundation,United Way of Greater Fort Dodge, Fort Dodge Community Schools Foundation and so many others are able to fulfil their mission because of community giving. In turn, these organizations are actively working to make Fort Dodge the best place to live and raise a family. Reasons to Support Local Charities Charitie...

ShinyTop is thriving

Sunday, September 08, 2019

Chad Thompson Three years ago when brothers Todd and Nate McCubbin looked out the front window of their newly opened brewery on Central Avenue near City Square Park, they saw a very different picture of main street in Fort Dodge. “We have been looking out this window for over three years,” said Todd McCubbin, co-owner of ShinyTop Brewing, 520 Central Ave. “And when we opened, there was Lily Grace (antique store) and an open warehouse, and Dave Madsen’s Lifestyles Furnishings was an older building with an ’80s front on it. Since then Lifestyles Furnishings has been updated, Troy Schroeder (Memories in Focu...

Educational Opportunities in Fort Dodge Take Students from Pre-K through College

Friday, June 21, 2019

Families seeking the best possible education for their children should consider moving to Fort Dodge, Iowa. The community places a great emphasis on a quality education, beginning in preschool. In fact, Fort Dodge is one of the few communities in the country offering free preschool to every four-year-old. With research demonstrating that children enrolled in preschool fare better throughout their educational career, Fort Dodge's youngest citizens are being set up for success. Fort Dodge Community School District The Fort Dodge Community School District (FDCSD) provides warm, caring and comprehensive education for local children. The school district serves over 3,600 students in on...

Governor Kim Reynolds Visits Spin Markket On Condition Of The State Tour

Sunday, February 03, 2019

Iowa Workforce Development recommended Spin Markket as a business that the Governor should visit. The discussion focused on how Spin Markket works with businesses around the state to tell their story about their business for customers and use that same strategy for recruiting new employees. https://www.prweb.com/releases/governor_kim_reynolds_visits_spin_markket_on_condition_of_the_state_tour/prweb16077253.htm

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