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Get ready to Cross Over to 2026

The St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church will be celebrating the new year with a Cross Over service on Wednesday night. The service will run from 10 p.m. to midnight, and will be held at the church located at 1000 Des Moines St., Webster City. Although specifically Catholic rites will be a feature of the evening, including exposition and benediction of the blessed sacrament, the Rev. Francis Kwane Anane, of St. Thomas Aquinas, stresses there will be elements familiar to all Christians, including prayer, singing, and penance. Cross Over celebrations are a New Year’s Eve tradition ...

Gibbons named publisher for The Daily Freeman-Journal

Grant Gibbons is the new publisher of The Daily Freeman-Journal. Gibbons had been the publisher of The Journal in New Ulm, Minnesota, and the Independent in Marshall, Minnesota, for the past three years before returning to this area. Gibbons is very familiar with Webster City and Hamilton County. He was the circulation director for The Daily Freeman-Journal and The Messenger in Fort Dodge from 2000 to 2023. He started his new position Dec. 15, replacing Terry Christensen, who retired Nov. 21. Gibbons is excited about the challenge ahead. “The Daily Freeman-Journal is an ...

Former Mayor Gus Dermand passes away at age 101

Constantine (Gus) Dermand, a World War II veteran, former business owner, councilman, mayor and graduate of the Lincoln High School class of 1943, passed away quietly last week. Dermand was living at Southfield Assisted Living apartments, where he died on December 22, 2025. The visitation and celebration of life is scheduled for January 24 at the Trinity Lutheran Church. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the memorial service at 11 a.m. Dermand was the co-owner of Dermand's Cafe, a family-owned restaurant located at the corner of Seneca and Second Street until it was sold in ...

New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball to benefit Heartland Hope and Home

A local nonprofit dedicated to ensuring affordable housing throughout Fort Dodge is asking residents to don formal wear and a mask for a new fundraiser on New Year’s Eve. Heartland Hope and Homes will host a masquerade ball at the Cardiff Event Center at Fort Frenzy on New Year’s Eve with all proceeds being donated to the mission of building, repairing, and creating affordable housing throughout the community. “We really want to bring affordable housing to Fort Dodge and we’ve been looking at different ways to do that,” said Jessica Webb, a member of the board at Heartland ...

City of Ellsworth to begin community comprehensive plan with grant assistance

The City of Ellsworth received a grant of $6,000 last Friday to help pay for its Community Comprehensive plan. The money comes from two sources; $4,000 from the Ellsworth Cooperative Telephone Association and $2,000 from Aureon, a West Des Moines-based technology partner of Iowa’s local ...