It is well known that Iowa is the largest producer of ethanol in the country. Iowa boasts 42 ethanol refineries, and the industry supports 32,877 jobs in the state. Iowa is also home to 10 biodiesel plants and has the capacity to produce 416 million gallons annually. Ethanol and biodiesel are ...
AMES — Cattle and horses can share a pasture, wheat and soybeans can grow side by side in the same field, and — according to Iowa State researchers — vegetables can thrive on the same plot as solar panels. Agrivoltaics is the agricultural use of land that’s also used by solar panels. ...
An Iowa State professor and former grad student have helped NASA discover how they could harvest water from the moon. Mehari Tekeste, associate professor with the department of agricultural and biosystems engineering at ISU, also is director of the Soil Machine Dynamics Laboratory at Iowa ...
EMMETSBURG — Ziegler Ag Equipment expanded its operations in 2025 by opening a new facility in Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County. The store is the company’s seventh new location in five years, spread across Iowa and Minnesota. Company officials state that it reflects Ziegler’s unwavering ...
Webster City and Hamilton County’s economic development work has ramped up in the last two years since joining the Ames Regional Economic Alliance. With new workforce housing set to break ground in 2026, redevelopment of the former Doc’s Stop site moving forward, upgraded children’s day ...
We don’t talk about trash much, but if you are Chris Kehoe, it’s on his mind every day. The owner of The Trash Man doesn’t care much for titles, but he cares about his business. “It’s a legacy built by what my father and uncle did,” he said. In September, Kehoe purchased ...
At Van Diest Supply Company, it’s more than just family, and more than just one family. It’s a place where multiple generations of many families have come to build a life. To mark the company’s 70th anniversary, it’s worth looking beyond the Van Diest family, to the impact the company ...
It’s a milestone in the making as Van Diest Supply Company prepares to celebrate its 70th year in business in the fall of 2026. The now-sprawling agri-business just west of Webster City on old Highway 20 all started for the simplest of reasons, and one that remains highly relatable for ...
It’s been seven months since Chris McNiel saw the barricades go up around his building located in the 500 block of downtown Webster City. Progress is being made, but there is still a lot of work and some frustration as McNiel works to save his building. A walk through of the building shows ...
The finish line is in sight. With more than $3 million in grants and donations and eight years in the rear view, the challenge now is to complete the second-story ballroom of The Elks in time for a fall 2026 opening. That hinges significantly on a $104,926 grant through Iowa Economic ...
The view into downtown Webster City is full of promise and hope. It’s the hope that our community will reinvest in itself. It’s the hope that our business community will create a succession plan. It’s hope that our children will have fond memories of growing up here. The promises are ...
If a town could take a collective sigh of relief, the news that Ace Hardware would be coming to Webster City would do it. If all goes well, the former True Value location will be open by summer with a new name in the same location we are all familiar with at 541 Second St. This building is ...
Music makes the world go round, but in the Webster City Community Schools, the music helps connect the students with the classroom work, opens the brain, and supports the sports and students in all other aspects of the school. Music programs have come under scrutiny for years, with school ...
Even though we are in the dead of winter, it’s just a few short months before students will be done with the 2025-2026 school year. For high school seniors, the next few months will be a whirlwind, these last days of school will be just a memory soon. This is also a final stretch where ...
If it seems like the new Career Ag Academy at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds went up quickly, just ask any of the board members who have been working toward this goal for more than 10 years. A small group of agri-business leaders began meeting and brain-storming as early as 2014 on the ...
Every time a driver pulls up to a fuel pump in Iowa, they’re purchasing ethanol, gasoline or diesel fuel that has been quality checked in Fort Dodge. Those checks are conducted at the Iowa Central Community College Fuel Testing Laboratory. That lab debuted in 2025 in one of the year’s ...
For Sreedhar Somisetty, M.D., orthopedic surgery has never been just about fixing bones — it’s about restoring lives. With more than 25 years of experience across academic medical centers, urban hospitals, and rural communities, Somisetty has built a career grounded in skill, precision, and ...
I never knew Fred Fuller; however, I feel he would be amazed and proud at how his dream lives on in Webster City at Fuller Recreational Hall. It lives on in people like Kent Harfst, Larry Flaws, Breanne Lesher, Mark Glascock, Bron McKee, Fuller Hall Trust, Park and Rec Board, employees, Webster ...
Fighting fires, and keeping residents safe. “It’s not just for men,” said Webster City Fire Chief Chuck Stansfield. After last summer’s camp for young women, where 14 girls attended Camp Ignite Her, the interest in fire fighting has increased. This first-ever female fire camp ...
Van Diest Medical Center’s culture of collaboration, trust, and service begins at the top — and that leadership was recently recognized on a national stage. VDMC was named a Top Workplace for Women-Led Organizations, an honor based entirely on employee feedback. For Chief Executive Officer ...