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Location: Badger is located eight miles northeast of Fort Dodge,
Iowa, in Webster County.
Population: 610
Badger has the following businesses and services:
Bar
Electrical Contractor and Car Wash
Construction
Companies
Animal Feed Store & Smokeshop BBQ Service
Grain Elevator
Insurance Agency
Gas Station and Convenience Store
Heating and Air Conditioning Service
Plumbing
Thread Shed & Gifts - CLOSED FOR THE WINTER MONTHS
Trucking Service
Links:
Webster-Calhoun Telephone Co.
Mid-American Energy
Badger Lions Club (www.badgerlions.org)
Church: Badger Lutheran Church ELCA. Sunday worship -
9:30AM, Fellowship - 10:30AM, Sunday School - 10:45AM. (Summer hours are different.) Badger
Lutheran welcomes all to join in for worship and fellowship. A very friendly
church, open to all.
 Schools: Badger
students can choose from Fort Dodge or open enroll in Humboldt Community and
parochial schools with bus service from Badger to Fort Dodge or Humboldt.
Badger Government Services: Badger has a maintenance
person, city clerk, water plant operator, a library, community center, a volunteer
fire and emergency service department, and a U.S. Post Office. The City
Clerk's office is 120 1st Street SE. Hours are 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through
Thursday.
Badger Public Library: Through efforts made by the Badger Town
and Country Boosters, a library was formed in 1991. The Library now has a collection
of approximately 7000 books, 500 videos, 35 DVD's, 21 magazine subscriptions,
and 100 audio books. Library patrons also have access to the Internet, two computer
workstations, fax and copy machines, and millions of books through Interlibrary
loan. The hours do change with the school year; call 545.4793 for hours. Fax:
545.4440. E-mail: badger@wccta.net.
 Community Center: Built in 1975, it features a kitchenette with
a microwave. It holds approximately 50 people seated at tables. It may be rented,
and reservations may be made through the City Clerk.
Parks: The City has three parks - a Baseball Diamond,
Jones Park, and Knudson Park. There is a county lake four miles from Badger
with fishing, boating, camping, and an eighteen hole golf course. The Des Moines
river is four miles west of town. Eight miles north of Badger is the Three Rivers
Bike Trail.
Airport: The Fort Dodge Airport is only fives miles from
Badger.
The community is fortunate to have tax abatement for residential property.
This is for new homes or improvements that have been added which have increased
the actual value by at least 15%. This is 100% of the tax value of the
first $75,000 of value added by improvements for five years.
Badger is a premier small community in Webster County due to caring residents
and their involvement in their community. We have a reasonable tax base
to provide for services and a warm Welcome
to all.
Volunteers are always needed for beautification projects and flowers around
the city.
General Information:
The City Clerk's office is 120 1st Street SE. Hours are 6:00AM to 3:00PM,
Monday through Thursday. Drive-up drop box for utility payments
City Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM
at the Badger City Clerk's office. If you wish to be on the agenda, contact
the City Clerk by 10:00AM on the Thursday before the meeting.
A building permit is required before you build or improve your property.
The permit is available at the City Clerk's office and must be approved
by the City Council before you start your project.
Water rates are $5.50 per 1,000 gallons used. Minimum monthly bill is
for 1,500 gallons. Cost is $8.25 plus tax per monthly billing plus a $5.00
base equals $13.25. Sewer rates are $2.75 a thousand of water used.
Garbage
rates are $9.00 for family or $4.50 for one person household per month. Garbage
pickup is every Thursday. There is a monthly $1.50 recycling fee and $2.00
landfill fee on each premises receiving water service. We have unit base
pricing on garbage, imposed by the DNR. Limit is two 30 gallon cans OR
4 bags per week for families. You may buy stickers at the Clerk's office
for over amount limit. These are $1.00 per bag.
A free landfill pass is available to each residential
address once a year. The pass is available at the landfill, just show your license or utility bill.
 Read your inside water meter and record the reading on the right-hand
stub of
your bill; return the stub with your payment. Your bill is based on your
water usage so it is very important that your reading be accurate. If
you read your meter on the same day each month, your usage and your bill
should be consistent. Your bill can be paid at the City Clerk's office or outside drive-up drop box, or mailed to
PO Box 253, Badger, Iowa 50516-0253. Bills are mailed out the first day
of each month. A late charge is added to all accounts not paid by the
15th of each month.
For cable TV service, contact Goldfield Communication Services Corp.,
536 N. Main, Box 67, Goldfield, Iowa 50542. Phone: 1.800.825.9753.
Most homes in Badger receive their mail at the Post Office. Be sure to
check in with the Post Office to get a box number or go on rural delivery.
For telephone service, contact Webster-Calhoun Coop Telephone Association,
Box 475, Gowrie, Iowa 50543. Phone: 515.352.3151.
Website: www.wccta.com.
For gas and electric service, contact Mid-American Energy, phone 1.888.427.5632.
A recycling collection unit is located across the street from the Library.
Please recycle newspapers, magazines, junk mail, cereal boxes, shiny
inserts, paper egg cartons, clean glass and plastic bottles, metal cans,
aluminum pie plates and corrugated cardboard. PLEASE do not put garbage
in recycling bin.
A Condensed History of Badger:
Badger Township was organized on October 10, 1865,
and the town of Badger was laid out and plotted by Charles Knudson in
1882. Knudson is known as the "Founder of Badger".
Myron fleming was
the first settler in the town of Badger. He served as the first
postmaster, and he built and operated the first general store in 1881.
His daughter Josie was the first child born in Badger in 1882.
Otto Ottoson and N.P. Hill built the first elevator in 1885. One
year later, the Peevie Company built another elevator nearby. Both
of these elevators were purchased by the Quaker Oats Company. In
1902, the Farmers Elevator Company was organized, and in 1942 it was
reorganized and became the Badger Cooperative Elevator. In 1973,
it merged with the Vincent Co-op Elevator and formed the New Co-op.
 A
local farmer, Tom Chantland, developed a superior open-pollinated corn
which bears his name. Tom and his son Alfred put up a seed cleaning plant
at their farm. Alfred built a gravity separator which they used for grading
alfalfa and clover seeds. Alfred also built a conveyor for loading bags
of seed, which sparked the idea of the Chantland Manufacturing Company. This
company was formed in the early 1940's, building its first conveyors
in a garage at the farm.
Alfred Chantland was also responsible for building the Elton Seed and Milling
Company in the 1940's. In 1956, Maurice Johanson purchased the seed mill,
and later changed the name to Johanson's Seed and Milling Company. He operated
the mill until 1987, when he turned it over to his son Steven, who still
operates the company today.
Otto Ottoson established the Bank of Badger in 1889. The name was later
changed to the State Bank of Badger, and in 1894 to the Badger Savings
Bank. The Badger Credit Union was incorporated in 1939, and sold to
the First National Bank of Fort Dodge in 1968. In 1989, Farmers Savings
Bank opened. It is a branch of Farmers Savings in Vincent.
The community has had several doctors who have resided or have had an office
in Badger. The first was Dr. Dahl in 1902, and the last was Dr. Otto Glesne
in 1928.
The first telephone company, Badger Telephone, was started In the late
1800's. In 1956, it converted to a dial system. In 1959, the company was
sold to North Central Telephone Company. In 1986, the company was sold
to Webster-Calhoun Cooperative Telephone Association.
In the early 1900's, Adolph and Alfred Knudson built a town hall. It
was used for school programs, basket socials, home talent plays, band
practices and group meetings.
A new brick community hall was erected in 1927, where all community events
and indoor sports were held. The community spirit was at it's height
at this time, resulting in an award for being "Iowa's Leading Farm Community".
Badger had been recognized as a town since 1882, but it was not until February
8, 1900, that the town was incorporated.
 The
Badger Fire Department was formed in the early 1900's. The citizens later
organized a volunteer fire department. In 1941, the department purchased
a front-end pumper, and in 1951, an International was purchased. In 1971,
a Breda Pumper was purchased, in 1972 a small tanker, and in 1979 a new
van. In 1980, a semi-tanker was added, and then in 1984 a 1955 FWD Pumper.
In 1977 a new station was built on Knudson Street.
Badger Lutheran Church sends deep roots into the past. According to the
Rev. O.A. Sauer's records, the first Norwegians arrived in Badger in
1867. In 1869, Badger Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, affiliated with
the Norwegian Synod, was organized, with 200 members. Therefore, the
Badger Lutheran Church of today dates back to 1869.
The very early education in Badger began in a grainery on Patrick Mitchell's
farm with Susan Calligan as the teacher. In 1862, the Houge School was
started on Houge land in Section 3. Later a new school was built in the
northwest corner of Section 8. This became Houge School District 3. In
1863 a school was built in Section 13 on the Maher land. Later a wooden
structure was erected in Section 19, which became District 4. By 1885 there
were seven schools in the township with an enrollment of 100 children and
many adults who attended during the winter months.
One
of the first organizations in Badger was the Young Ladies Society, which
was organized in 1894. In 1906, the Society served the first Norwegian
Supper. These suppers have been held for more than 90 years. Another
organization is the Badger Lions, which was chartered in 1973 and sponsored
by the Humboldt Lions Club. Membership rose to 44 in the late 70's, and
today is at 15. In addition, the Badger 39ers meet twice a month, on
the first and third Mondays. The group has 36 members.
The 10 rural districts, which existed for more than 80 years, educated
hundreds of children in one-room schoolhouses that were heated by coal
or oil. Students who wanted to attend high school
either stayed in Fort Dodge during the week or drove to school with a
student who was fortunate enough to own a Model T. In 1955 a new
Central Elementary School was built in the southwest part of Knudson
Park. All 10 rural schools were sold at auction. in 1966, Badger became
part of the Fort Dodge School District. At that time, junior high students
were bussed to Fort Dodge, leaving only six grades in Badger. In 1985
the sixth grade was also transferred to Fort Dodge. In 1990, Badger Elementary
School was closed amid much controversy.
The biggest event for Badger community was the community picnic held at
the close of each school year. The first picnic was held June 25, 1923
at Knudson Park. There was a parade led by the Badger Band, followed by
war veterans, floats and children and teachers from each district. A program
with performances given by the students and teachers followed the parade.
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