Fort Dodge is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S. Routes 20 and 169.

History

Fort Dodge traces its beginnings to 1850 when Capt. Samuel Woods, with his E Company of the 6th Infantry were sent from Fort Snelling to erect and garrison a fort at the junction of the Des Moines River and Lizard Creek, they arrived August 2, 1850. It was originally named Fort Clarke, in honor of Brev. Brig. Gen. Newman S. Clarke, colonel of the Sixth 151, but was renamed Fort Dodge because there was another fort with the same name in Texas. It was named after

Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Bla ...

, a governor of Wisconsin Territory (which had included Iowa until Iowa became a state in 1846). The fort was abandoned by the Army in 1853. The next year William Williams, a civilian storekeeper in Fort Dodge, purchased the land and buildings of the old fort. The town of Fort Dodge was founded in 1869. In 1872 the long and continuing history of

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

production in Iowa started when George Ringland, Webb Vincent, and Stillman T. Meservey formed the Fort Dodge Plaster Mills to mine, grind, and prepare gypsum for commercial use. The Company constructed the first gypsum mill west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, at the head of what is now known as Gypsum Creek. In 2018, Kris Patrick, Executive Director of Fort Dodge Main Street, stated that Fort Dodge is locally referred to as "Little Chicago" because architects modeled downtown buildings to resemble Chicago in the mid-1900s.

Geography

Fort Dodge is located on the Des Moines River. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Fort Dodge has a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with cold winters and hot humid summers.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 24,871 people, 9,946 households, and 5,428 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 1,553.7 inhabitants per square mile (599.9/km²). There were 11,298 housing units at an average density of 705.8 per square mile (272.5/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 83.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.0% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.2% from other races and 5.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino persons of any race comprised 6.8% of the population. Of the 9,946 households, 25.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.0% were cohabitating couples, 32.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 23.1% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 45.4% of all households were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 38.3 years. 24.9% of the residents were under the age of 20; 7.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 and 44; 22.9% were from 45 and 64; and 19.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 25,206 people, 10,275 households, and 5,850 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,215 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90% White, 5.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population. There were 10,275 households, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.1% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.3% male and 48.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 25,136 people, 10,470 households, and 6,376 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 11,168 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.47%

, 3.79%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.02%

, 1.30% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.94% of the population. There were 10,470 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were

living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.94. Age spread: 24.3% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,361, and the median income for a family was $42,555. Males had a median income of $31,253 versus $23,360 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,018. About 7.7% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The major industries of Fort Dodge are

biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricultural, domestic ...

, livestock feed (especially

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

mining, can production, drywall manufacturing, trucking, the manufacture of

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

s and

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

s, and retail. Gypsum rock is processed into drywall and plaster products at several Fort Dodge manufacturing facilities. Drywall was patented by a Fort Dodge resident, and the gypsum used to create the Cardiff Giant

hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

of the late 19th century was mined at Fort Dodge. Currently National Gypsum Company, Georgia Pacific Corporation, Celotex Corporation (now CertainTeed corporation) and the United States Gypsum Company operate gypsum facilities in and around Fort Dodge. Fort Dodge is the home of Fort Dodge Animal Health (a division of

Boehringer Ingelheim C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. is the parent company of the Boehringer Ingelheim group, which was founded in 1885 by Albert Boehringer (1861–1939) in Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany. As of 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's List of la ...

), a major producer of

s and

s for

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

use. The company's headquarters were moved from Fort Dodge to

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

in 1995. Two of the company's three United States manufacturing plants are located in Fort Dodge. In 2022,

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

announced it would build a

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...

refinery in Fort Dodge. At least three major national trucking companies (primarily flatbed carriers serving the drywall industry) are based in Fort Dodge. The city also serves as a retail center for North-Central Iowa. For most of the 20th century,

meatpacking The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally n ...

was a major industry in Fort Dodge. The last two large meatpacking plants (owned by Iowa Beef Processors and

Hormel Hormel Foods Corporation, doing business as Hormel Foods or simply Hormel, is an American multinational corporation, multinational food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A ...

) closed during the 1980s, when such companies moved their facilities closer to beef production in western states such as the Dakotas. One of the laboratories of Fort Dodge Animal Health was built on the site of a former Hormel processing plant. The Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, a 1,250-bed medium-security state prison, opened in 1998.

Arts and culture

Historical

The Fort Museum and Frontier Village is located on the southwest edge of Fort Dodge. It is a full-scale recreation of a military outpost on the prairie from the 19th century. It also features a reconstructed village from the same time period. Additionally, The Fort Museum has a replica of the Cardiff Giant, an archaeological hoax sculpted from

mined at Fort Dodge. A "Frontier Days" event is held annually on the Fort Museum grounds. It features a parade, beauty pageant, historical reenactments, a buckskinner camp, and live entertainment. 2014 marked the 40th year of the event. Not all portrayals of early history at the Fort Museum are historically accurate and the facility is intended to be more of a tourist attraction as opposed to an actual museum. The Blanden Memorial Art Museum, the first public museum of art in the state of Iowa, is located in the historic Oak Hill district of Fort Dodge. The Blanden opened June 5, 1932. The permanent collection on display includes European and American artists prints, sculptures and paintings. The museum also offers art classes for children and adults.

Music

Fort Dodge maintains several music organizations, including a civic choral society, a city-funded municipal band, regional symphony orchestra, a Christian choral union, and a men's barbershop chorus. In 1896, the famous composer

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

composed a piece entitled "Impromptu to Grieg Men's Chorus in Fort Dodge, Iowa." Shellabration is an annual rock concert held in late July/early August at the Oleson Park Music Pavilion, featuring nationally touring rock groups. Previous performing bands include Styx, Foreigner,

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

, and

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

. The Lizard Creek Blues Society sponsors an annual blues festival, "Blues Under the Trees", every summer, drawing blues musicians from all over the United States. Fort Dodge has most recently been named the "Live Music Capital of Iowa." It is home to various live music venues hosting a variety of local aspiring artists and bands. Fort Dodge Choir Boosters (affiliated with Fort Dodge Senior High School) hosts the annual "Fort Dodge Choral Festival", which features high school and college choirs from around the upper Midwest under the direction of a nationally recognized conductor/composer. Fort Dodge Senior High School serves as a host location for the Iowa State Marching Band Festival, State Solo & Small Ensemble Festival, and regional high school jazz band competitions.

Theater

Theater and

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

are historically popular arts activities in Fort Dodge, with the community maintaining three independent theater organizations. Hawkeye Community Theatre puts on six full-length productions a year of varied genre. Comedia Musica Players is a civic musical theater troupe that produces an annual musical each fall. Stage Door Productions provides theater training and performance opportunities for middle school, high school, and college-aged students during the summer. It produces one small-cast (10 or fewer) play per year. The two local high schools and the community college produce a student-cast musical each Spring. The Fort Dodge Senior High School musical is the longest-running high school musical theater tradition in the United States, first produced in 1927.

Historical structures

> File:Oleson Park Music Pavilion.jpg, Oleson Park Music Pavilion File:Wahkonsa Hotel.jpg, Wahkonsa Hotel File:Methodist episcopal Fort dodge iowa.jpg, First United Methodist Church File:Fort dodge iowa ferris wheel.jpg, Abandoned Ferris wheel, now located in Eagle Grove, Iowa File:Webster co iowa courthhouse.jpg,

County Courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

File:Rosedale_Dairy_Fort_Dodge_Iowa.jpg, Abandoned Rosedale Dairy File:Ft Dodge ghost sign.jpg, Downtown Ghost sign File:Hawkeye_Theatre.jpg, Hawkeye Theatre

Parks and recreation

Oleson Park has woods and hiking trails. The city's recently restored band shell is located here. Matt Cosgrove River's Edge Discovery Center, 20 N 1st Street, Fort Dodge, had its grand opening in 2024. It is a hub for conservation and recreation in Webster County. A place that not only welcomes those who come to learn and play but also tells the story of the land and water that we enjoy. http://webstercountyia.gov/departments/conservation/nature_center.php Snell-Crawford Park (located at Williams Drive and 12th Avenue North) is a local favorite for weekend recreation. It has a disc golf course, three sand volleyball courts, a jogging/walking/bicycling trail, picnic tables, and grills. Soldier Creek runs through the park. Rosedale Rapids, the city's new multimillion-dollar aquatic center, opened north of the

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

intersection of 10th Avenue North and North 32nd Street in July 2010. The aquatic center features swimming pools, water slides, and a

lazy river "(Up A) Lazy River" is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has ...

. John F. Kennedy Park is the nearest

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

facility to Fort Dodge. It has a large campground, a lake with a swimming beach, a playground, and hiking trails. Lakeside Municipal Golf Course, an 18-hole course, is located here. The Gypsum City Off-Highway Vehicle Park opened to the public on July 6, 2006. The park is located on abandoned gypsum mines. Plans are in place for the park to be expanded to as much as in the future. Fort Dodge is a top tubing destination in the state, offering the swift and clear waters of Lizard Creek, solitude on the Des Moines River from Fort Dodge to the Dolliver Memorial State Park, and the nearby lake at Brushy Creek. The Fort Dodge Country Club par 71 golf course is one of Iowa's top courses. Woodman Hollow State Preserve lies roughly 7 miles southeast of Fort Dodge. Fort Frenzy opened in the eastern part of the city in late 2013. It features family-friendly activities such as an arcade, bumper boats, bumper cars, mini golf, go karts, laser tag, and bowling.

Education

Fort Dodge is the home to the central campus of Iowa Central Community College. Fort Dodge is served by the Fort Dodge Community School District. The public school system includes Fort Dodge Senior High School (9−12), Fort Dodge Middle School (5−8), and several elementary schools. Duncombe Elementary closed briefly in 2015 due to structural issues, and was operating in the former Fair Oaks Middle School. The new building opened in Fall 2018, and serves grades 1–4. Private schools in Fort Dodge include St. Edmond (Preschool−12), Community Christian School (Preschool−8), St Paul Lutheran (Preschool−8), and Harvest Baptist School (K−12). Fort Dodge has been the location of Iowa High School Athletic Association championship events. Currently, the cross country championships are held at John F. Kennedy Park north of the city. Fort Dodge also hosts the Iowa girls' softball championship tournament at Harlan Rogers Park.

Media

;AM radio stations * 540 KWMT (Three Eagles Communications, news/country/farm) 5 kW day/.2 kW night * 1400 KVFD (Three Eagles Communications, news/talk/sports) – 1 kW ;FM radio stations * 88.1 KICB (Iowa Central Community College Broadcasting, "88.1 The Point", alternative rock) – 0.2 kW * 89.5 KLFG (Family Radio, "Family Radio", Religious) – 17 kW * 91.1 KNSK (Iowa State University/WOI Radio Group, NPR) 100 kW * 92.1

KZLB KZLB (92.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "92 Rock") is a radio station that broadcasts out of Fort Dodge, Iowa, airing an active rock format. The station is owned by Alpha Media, through licensee Alpha 3E Licensee LLC. History KZLB began broadcasting in ...

(Three Eagles Communications, "The Eagle", Classic Rock) – 6 kW * 94.5 KKEZ (Three Eagles Communications, "Mix 94.5", Hot Adult Contemporary) – 100 kW * 96.9 KIAQ (Three Eagles Communications, "Hot Country K97", Country) – 100 kW * 99.7

KXFT KXFT (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "Sunny 99.7") is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to Manson, Iowa, United States, the station serves Fort Dodge, Iowa. The station is currently owned by Alpha Media, through lice ...

(Three Eagles Communications, "Sunny 99.7", Adult Contemporary) – 25 kW * 105.9 KTLB (Three Eagles Communications, "Hippie Radio", Oldies) – 25 kW ;Online radio stations * Fort Dodge Radio (Fort Dodge Radio, "Iowa's Best Classic Rock!") ;Broadcast television stations * KTIN 21, local PBS member station, Iowa PBS network member. * A commercial TV station, last known as KVFD-TV, an NBC affiliate, operated on channel 21 from 1953 until 1970 then moved to channel 50. On May 4, 1977, its tower and transmitter were destroyed by a tornado. The owner died before he could rebuild it, and his heirs were not interested in continuing it. KVFD was never rebuilt and the call letters have been returned to the FCC. Fort Dodge is served from the television stations in the Ames-Des Moines metro area. ;Print * ''

Fort Dodge Messenger ''The Messenger'' is a newspaper that is printed and delivered to the Fort Dodge, Iowa, area. That area covers Buena Vista, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Sac, Webster, and Wright counties. It was founded o ...

'', daily newspaper

Infrastructure

Surface transportation

U.S. Route 20 bypasses Fort Dodge to the south, and U.S. 169 skirts the west side of the city; both highways have business routes through town. Iowa Highway 7 has its terminus at the northwest edge of the city. DART ( Dodger Area Rapid Transit) maintains six local bus routes that connect to most commercial, medical, and educational locations on weekdays only. Jefferson Bus lines serves Fort Dodge with a link to Williams, where travelers can connect to the expanded Jefferson line.

Airport

The Fort Dodge Regional Airport (FOD) is located just north of the city. It is primarily a general aviation airport.

Health care

Unity Point Hospital, formerly Trinity Regional Medical Center, is Fort Dodge's only hospital.

Sister cities

As of December 13, 2016, Fort Dodge has one sister city: *

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

, Kosovo

Notable people

* Lewis Armistead (1817–1863), as part of Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg * Emil Lewis Holmdahl (1883–1963), American infantryman, soldier of fortune, and treasure hunter * Lew Anderson (1922–2006), last Clarabell the Clown on ''

Howdy Doody ''Howdy Doody'' is an American Children's television series, children's television program (with circus and Western (genre), Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell

'' * Samuel Z. Arkoff (1918–2002),

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

producer * Cathie Beck (1955–present), journalist and writer * Suzanne M. Bianchi (1952–2013), sociologist * Joan Blaine (1910–1949), actress * Scott Bloomquist(1963–2024), race car driver * Clara Breed (1906–1994), activist on behalf of Japanese-Americans during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Holm O. Bursum (1867–1963), politician for the state of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

* Cyrus Clay Carpenter (1829–1898), Governor of Iowa * Nick Collison (1980–present), professional basketball player * Gene Elston (1922–2015), sportscaster and

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

honoree * Nate Erdmann (1973–present), professional basketball player * Lou Fiene (1884–1964),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Gene Ford (1912–1970), Major League Baseball pitcher * Robert Garrison (1960–2019), sculptor * William Greehey (1936–present), businessman and philanthropist. 2001 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award * Thomas Heggen, author of '' Mister Roberts'', which was made into a Broadway play and a Hollywood film * Henry A. Kelly (1934–present), Scholar and research professor at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. * Mack Hellings, racing driver * Walter Howey, journalist and editor * Mary Kelly, artist, social activist, educator and writer *

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christian ...

, artist, social activist and

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

* William S. Kenyon, U.S. senator and federal appeals court judge * Karl King, conductor * Bill Koll (1923–2003),

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion, Wrestling Hall of Fame member * Lisa Koll (born 1987),

record holder in 10,000 metres * Mitch Krebs,

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

* Richard D. McCormick, director of Wells Fargo & Company * John M. Peters, lawyer and legislator * Katie Porter, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from California * Daniel Rhodes, ceramic artist and author * Steve Stark, television producer, president of production,

MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...

* Brad Steiger (1936–2018), writer * Jeff Struecker, U.S. Army chaplain and author *

Bill Tilghman William Matthew Tilghman Jr. (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in ...

, lawman and gunslinger * Don Ultang,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning photographer * Betsy Warland, poet and writer * Dale Warland, choral conductor and

clinician A clinician is a health care professional typically employed at a skilled nursing facility or clinic. Clinicians work directly with patients rather than in a laboratory, community health setting or in research. A clinician may diagnose, treat a ...

* Kevin Wickander,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player

References

External links

Official Fort Dodge City WebsiteGreater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance
(formerly Fort Dodge Chamber of Commerce and Webster County Development Corporation) *

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Fort Dodge, Iowa
The Fort Dodge Community Foundation
Fort Dodge History {{Authority control Populated places established in 1850 Cities in Iowa Micropolitan areas of Iowa Cities in Webster County, Iowa County seats in Iowa 1850 establishments in Iowa