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Today, our hearts are broken.

Webster City suffered an unimaginable loss Saturday with the passing of Webster City Assistant City Manager and Recreation & Public Grounds Director Kent Harfst in a bicycling accident. The staff of the Freeman Journal wish to extend their deepest sympathies to both the Harfst family and the community. Kent Harfst epitomized the role of the servant leader. He wasn’t the loudest in the room, but he was able to be effective by listening and being interested in people’s problems. He didn’t just listen though, he was exceptional at taking steps to solve problems and get things ...

Don’t fall for political trickery

Well, they’re at it again, trying to pit Americans against each other and thus, disrupting the upcoming presidential eletion. The Russians? We don’t know, although it is certain that the Kremlin’s online campaign of inciting dissention among us never stopped. Someone decided Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke was a good target. Soon after the identity of the man who massacred seven people in and near Odessa, Texas, a few days ago was released, someone took a social media shot at him. “The Odessa shooter’s name is Seth Ator, a Democrat Socialist who had a Beto ...

Iowans have a rare political opportunity

The key part Iowa’s caucuses play in the process through which our major political parties select their nominees for president will put Iowa at the heart of the 2020 campaign for the next few months. Our caucuses get enormous attention from the national news media because they come at the very start of the presidential campaign. Not very many convention delegates are at stake. Even so, a candidate who does well here gets a big publicity boost. Winning in the Hawkeye State can put a candidate on his or her way to becoming our nation’s next chief executive. The caucus system ...

Boone Forks Region is a natural wonder

There are some wonderful outdoor surprises awaiting anyone who thinks Iowa is just acre after acre of corn and soybean fields. Right here in the Fort Dodge region there are two scenic rivers. The Des Moines River flows through Webster County while the Boone River flows through Hamilton County. Than there are the area parks that offers forests for shade, trails to explore and places to enjoy a picnic. Chief among those parks are Dolliver Memorial State Park and Brushy Creek State Recreation Area, both in Webster County, and Briggs Woods Recreation Area in Hamilton County. Dolliver ...

Farm to School Program deserves support

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program makes grants available to school districts and other organizations to support projects that connect American young people with farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers in their communities. According to the USDA, this grant funding is designed in part to “increase the amount of healthy, local foods served in schools and create economic opportunities for nearby farmers.” Beyond that, the endeavor supports an array of collaborative learning opportunities. These undertakings include student field trips to local farms, ...

Strengthening rural Iowa

Iowa is a great place to live. Its economy is strong and the quality of life it affords has few equals anywhere in the nation. Even so, some of our state’s rural communities aren’t fully sharing the generally upbeat prognosis for the Hawkeye State’s future. Gov. Kim Reynolds is determined that as Iowa continues to thrive in the years ahead no part of the state will be forgotten. That’s why she launched the Empower Rural Iowa Initiative in July 2018. Last year task forces that included a wide array of community stakeholders were appointed by the governor. They developed ...