Breaking News

Dayton landmark gets a second act

By Kelli Bloomquist DAYTON — A downtown building that has sat empty for years is headed for restoration after its owner secured a Community Catalyst grant to help rehabilitate the historic opera house at 39 S. Main St. The building, known to most of Dayton as the former Iron Saddle, has taken on nearly every job a Main Street building can. It has housed a tractor dealership, an appliance store, and a restaurant and bar. Owner Francisco Miranda now plans to restore the building and bring in a restaurant and a drive-thru coffee shop, with…

Turning Back the Pages of Time

1951/75 years ago Biggest Event Held Yet at Municipal Pond More than 700 youngsters and spectators turned out yesterday for…

Lahn offers his plans for Iowa

Zach Lahn, the Republican nominee for governor, recently sat for an exclusive interview with Messenger Editor Bill Shea, during which…

G'day

Women’s club meets today The Webster City Woman’s Club will meet today at 1:30 p.m.at the Jane Young House, located…

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Local Sports

Webster City opens girls tennis season

HUXLEY - The Webster City girls tennis team opened up the season with a pair of duals against Ballard and Dike-New Hartford last Friday. The Lynx fell to the Bombers, 9-0, and to the Wolverines, 9-0. The teams played best-of-three sets, with scoring to four. Gabbie Sebert, Natalie Segar and Ava Otteros each won…

Local Columns

Old enough to be friendly… and safe

Our nation’s FIFA World Cup visitors returned home with glowing reports on their visit to the United States. Fans from Great Britain, Europe, Korea and other regions bragged about America’s natural beauty, stadium sizes, portion sizes and free refills on soft drinks. Many were amazed at the friendliness of the American people. I tend…

Editorials

Buffer Pilot Project just got better

There are times when a good idea can be made even better. That is the case with the expansion of the state’s Streamside Buffer Pilot Project. It uses a comparatively small amount of money to help farmers plant vegetation along the sides of waterways, with the ultimate goal of cleaning up water downstream. And…

March Madness has begun and I can truly say this is my favorite time of the…

Haymow Hoop Dreams

Did your parents discuss politics at the dinner table?

Business Briefs

Lifestyle Briefs

Parents invited to Back to School Night Aug. 3

Back to School Night will be held from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Aug, 3 at the Webster City Middle School, 1101 Des Moines St. Webster City Community School District invites all students and families to this special evening. designed as a one-stop location where families can access the resources and support needed to…

Letters to Editor

Water testing necessary to preserve ecosystem

Letter to the Editor Growing up in rural Iowa, I spent a lot of time at nearby waterways. I learned to tell the quality of a waterway by the ecosystem in and around it or the lack of one. Now, Iowa faces a public health and water crisis that demands immediate action. Our state…

Obituaries

Luanne Baker

A visitation will be held at Boman Funeral Home (www.bomanfh.com) in Webster City from 9:30–10:30 AM on Saturday, August 15, 2026, followed by a memorial service at 10:30 AM.