SperlingViews - Fort_Dodge, Iowa

I see that everyone is rather hard on Fort Dodge. I grew up and lived there until I married and (like a failed pioneer) moved east to Gettysburg, Pa. It was the best place to grow up! Classic Christmas, close families, great (if hot) summers. Being surrounded by green and growing crops that you knew fed the world was a great privilege. I think the first measure of quality of life is the people that populate a place---and you won't find any place where the people are more friendly than Iowa. I've been all over the U.S. and in many parts of the world, and there is really no comparison. My sister worked many years for the U.S. government in Washington, D.C. and the minute she retired she moved back to Fort Dodge. Besides the friendly atmosphere, the service is second to none. When she moved back to the 'old homestead', she decided to update some furniture. We went to a furniture store downtown and picked out a couple pieces. The owner asked when we'd like it delivered. Being used by then to 'East Coast time', we said 'sometime during the week'. He was at the house waiting for us with the furniture by the time we drove home from downtown. You don't get service like that in the big cities. Fort Dodge has several excellent restaurants, movie theatres, a Target, WalMart, and a shopping center. If that isn't enough, you are within one day's driving of Minneapolis, Des Moines, and Omaha. If you can't get enough shopping at the Mall of America, you aren't trying. Fort Dodge is also home to an Air Show, Frontier Days Festival, a fine country club, and a Dragon Boat Race event that draws contestants from around the world. The Blanden Art Gallery has some items that would make a Chicago gallery jealous. There is a fine parks system, with excellent walking trails. We always enjoyed cross-country skiing. Nearby is Dolliver Park, a great adventure. Also the Brushy Creek Recreation Area. Also Twin Lakes is a quick ride, and the beautiful Iowa Great Lakes a little longer. Besides all the history in Fort Dodge (complete with replica Fort and Museum), nearby is the world-reknowned Grotto of the Redemption and all sorts of small towns with interesting stories. And who can forget the Iowa State Fair, an easy drive to Des Moines. Fort Dodge has a fine Community College, with a satellite branch of the well-respected Buena Vista College. The new Prison is a state-of-the-art facility. No one who ever owned a pet is unfamiliar with the Fort Dodge name, as the high-quality of Fort Dodge Labs medicines is world famous. There is so much more to Fort Dodge than what I can write in a small space. But if you want an easy pace, a place you can safely walk with your family, and pretty much everything a larger place offers but the high crime, coldness of the citizens, and exasperations of just trying to live day to day--then Fort Dodge is an excellent choice. [read more...]

When making comments on a community for the use of others to decide on moving, you strive to make points with both pros and cons. There are really is'nt much good to say about Fort Dodge. The town survives mainly on the last four gypsum mills with two large trucking companies for employment. There is a shopping mall built in the sixties with little improvement except a roof and an extention, anchored by Pennies, a very tired Sears and Yonkers. Target, Hy Vee and a Walmart Superstore are located in the same area. The downtown area is mainly made up of bars, banks and attorney offices. One of the grandest hotels of its time, taking up almost a city block, is now run down and houses section 8 housing. Although Fort Dodge has a huge police force for such a small town, crime is still high. Transport is covered by a local Bus company and a taxi. Fort Dodge has been stagnant and in decline for decades. Unless your relocation calls for a move to this city, I suggest you look elsewhere.[read more...]