Art, Food and Fun in Fort Dodge, IA

There are so many things to say about Fort Dodge that Keith and I discovered when we visited in early September. We were hosted by the wonderful Kerrie Kuiper, Director at Visit Fort Dodge. When visiting this community that has the motto, “Dodge the Ordinary”. This is quite fitting because there is nothing ordinary about this vibrant community.

Lunch

We met up with Kerrie at the fun Olde Boston’s Restaurant & Pub. This historic tavern and dining spot was lovely. They offered good food and great service. On our way in, I saw a theme that would come back a couple of times. There was an old piano decorated to fit the venue. What a cool idea.

Outside the restaurant, I loved the picture of Obie the Boston dog. On the website, they share the story. “Obie (O.B.), the Olde Dodge, had his start long ago in Olde Boston, Massachusetts, but one day he decided to make his fortune in the Midwest. He hitched rides on many wagons until one day he arrived in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Obie (O.B.) roamed the construction site day after day, seeking friends and a home until one day his journey ended tragically with a fall from a high scaffold. The story goes that Olde Dog’s ghostly image from the past continued to haunt the Olde Boston building. The ghost of Obie (O.B.), the Olde Boston Dog, roamed the building day after for a home—a place where he could finally rest his head and be among friends.”

911

It just happened that we were in Fort Dodge on the 911 anniversary. We were touched by the beautiful flag flying from a firetruck ladder.

While we didn’t see it on our first day, the Webster County Freedom Rock was patriotic site that touched our hearts. Dedicated to military veterans, it was created by Ray “Bubba” Sorenson II in 2016.

Besides the painting, the words aim straight to the heart.

Another military image we found along the way was this Spanish War plaque on the courthouse downtown.

Art at Soldier Creek Winery

Our first stop with Kerrie was Soldier Creek Winery. While I have been talking about military above, this winery is named this because of the nearby creek.

The Secor family owns the winery that started as a corn and soybean farm. The vineyard opened in 2014. In their tasting room, they have quite a bit of lovely art, especially like this cute cat picture.

At the winery, they too have a piano decorated with a winery theme.

Lodging & Supper

We checked in at the beautiful Sleep Inn & Suites. This clean comfortable hotel was a great space to relax and work in. I loved the colorful lobby.

First thing, we received a bountiful gift bag with all the amenities! Thank you, Kerrie and Visit Fort Dodge.

For supper, we headed to a diner called Mineral City Mill and Grill. It is named in honor of the Gypsum mines that created a huge industry in Fort Dodge. The mills and production in Fort Dodge were so successful that the town is called, “Gypsum Capital of the World”. While we enjoyed the food, part of the fun was the historic pictures on the walls.

My favorite part of the meal was the dessert aptly named Tuxedo Bomb!

To cut the calories I spent a little time in the workout room on the treadmill after dinner.

Art, food and fun on Day 2

In the morning we had a chance to see a bit of art on our way to breakfast. I enjoyed spying the Fort Dodge YMCA mural. This concrete relief structure was sculpted by Clifton Adams. Created in 1964 and installed in 1965, with 13 figures, the sports theme dominates the artwork.

Breakfast was at the upscale Stella’s Coffee Bar. With its lovely brick facade, pastries, and yummy breakfast choices it was a fun stop.

On a roll with dessert selections, besides the egg sandwich, Keith and I split a delectable cinnamon roll.

There is a lot of public art in Fort Dodge. Much is along the roadway bringing beauty to the drive.

During our visit at to Matt Cosgrove’s River Edge Discovery Center we discovered the Eagle statue created by Larry Pearson and Tom Riefe outside the building.

Even the playground area of the center has art.

The courthouse downtown was closed on Saturday morning, but we noted the beautiful recently restored Clocktower clock.

While the clocktower of the courthouse dominates the skyline, you can’t miss the majestic 110-foot-tall Fort Dodge Grain silo mural. The largest mural in the state of Iowa, it is a 360-degree installation. Created by Australian artist Guido van Helten, his vision is, “to repurpose what were once ‘purely functional’ structures in rural communities…to commemorate the local agricultural history and inspire new industry in the forms of public art and tourism…

Floyd!

Perhaps my favorite art story is that of Floyd of Rosedale.

Floyd of Rosedale was a prize-winning Hampshire pig donated by the owner of Rosedale Farms near Fort Dodge. The pig was promised to the winner of the 1935 rival football game between the University of Iowa and University of Minnesota. The pig was meant to help alleviate some past racial tension between the two teams. This was a sign of goodwill. However, because the pig couldn’t be donated back and forth, they came up with a pig trophy that still is passed back and forth between the winning teams. In 2021, a sculpture of Floyd was created to remember the history of the award-winning pig and goodwill effort to restore relations between two rival teams.

Not sure, but this image reminded me of a river on the side of this building.

Tea Thyme-Thyme to Shop

Tea Thyme was a fun stop. It is both a tearoom and gift shop. What a treat! On their website they share a bit about this fun stop. “Successfully owned and operated by Debra Lacina for over 15 years, Tea Thyme is an upscale, yet friendly dining experience located at 2021 6th Avenue South in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Our guests return time and time again for our delicious lunches, desserts, gourmet teas and coffee.”

We had to try the almond chicken for lunch. Then we wrapped up the meal with owner Debra’s favorite, coconut cream pie.

Studio Fusion

I’m not known for my artwork, but I was excited to try out Studio Fusion’s fun glass project. We required a lot of assistance, but owner Skylar Berdaus had the patience of Job. Keith and I had so much fun picking out the colors and making our little glass farmhouse. She believes anyone can create art, and with her help we did!

Skylar began working as a partner at Studio Fusion in October of 2024 and bought the store in January of 2026 when her co-owner was in a car accident.

Our session at Studio Fusion gave us a chance to work with art with supervision, and we love what we created.

About a week after we arrived home, our fused art arrived.

Railway beauty

We couldn’t help but notice a very high railway trestle that cut through town and over the river. When we visited Fort Dodge in early September, we couldn’t help but be fascinated by the high rail trestle, which is officially called the Chicago. Great Western Railway viaduct. We learned that this was built between 1901 and 1903. It cost around $450,000 to build and is 182 feet tall and around 2300 feet long.

The design features rare multi-span pin-connected Baltimore dec trusses, plates. It has girder spans set in stone masonry piers and steel towers. We drove around town until we found a spot to get a good picture. Fascinating. When we visited Fort Dodge Museum and Frontier Village, Sean O’Conner told stories of his father or grandfather (sorry not sure which) working on the railroad. My grandpa Disque worked on the railway, so I always have a bit of fondness for them.

Fort Museum and Frontier Village art or hoax?

One amazing story includes the amazing replica of the Cardiff Giant; a giant form carved from gypsum which was a local mineral that set the area on the map. The carved giant housed in the museum was once purported to be a giant from the Bible. This piece of realistic art was shown all around the US in traveling circuses in the 1800’s.

The story goes that, George Hull; a cigar maker was visiting Iowa and got into a theological debate about Giants from the Book of Genesis. An atheist, to prove a point, he took a 5-ton block of gypsum and had it fashioned into a man lying on his back. He had the “giant” that was 10’ tall and weighed around 3,000 pounds aged. Burying the giant at his relative’s farm, eventually it was “discovered” and the hoax was on.

Grace Lutheran Church

We stopped at Grace Lutheran Church’s Saturday night service. When we walked in, we saw quilts on the back of the pews. At first, I thought they were having a quilt show. We soon learned they were sending quilts to on Monday to a mission. It was quite beautiful, a wonderful sermon with the lovely quilts as a background.

We met a lovely couple who had shared interests and they went with us to the wonderful Korean restaurant Gaga & Hoo.

Dining and an apple orchard

Gaga & Hoo was located at the country club and was in the old clubhouse. The building was lovely, but it was the food that keeps people coming back. I heard that the chef Byeong-Whan Won was brought to work at a local factory that employs a lot of Korean workers and he was so good they talked him into opening his own restaurant.

The restaurant is named after his two children Gaga and Hoo. They opened on august 31, 2018. Besides the great food, the owner also plays music, and there is a robot called Gaga that brings food to the table!

The next day breakfast was at the delectable Tom Thumb diner where we met Kerrie and her husband.

Our last stop was at Community Orchard. This amazing orchard had its own type of art, food art. Look at those pot pies!

It is hard to share all the beauty and things there are to do in Fort Dodge. To experience it all, you just have to plan a visit.