Fort Dodge Special Election Coverage: 8 Candidate Rundown

My name is Steve Hansen. I was born and raised in Fort Dodge, where I met my wife Barb of 30 years. We have two sons Hunter and Drew. I’m 56 years old and employed as a Sale Representative for Frito Lay. I spend most my spare time outdoors, hunting and fishing. I’m running for city council to help continue keeping the infrastructure projects moving forward and to continue bringing businesses to Fort Dodge and to keep businesses in Fort Dodge also. To continue maintaining city /private sector relationships, such as Elanco, CJ Bio, Cargill. It’s so important these businesses stay in town or in our county. First and foremost my number one priority is the security and safety of Fort Dodge residents working with law enforcement and community leaders to get to the root cause of this problem. I feel that a council member should always be looking out for the residents of Fort Dodge and put all political feelings aside. They should always be looking for improvements for our community and support small businesses in Fort Dodge. As a life long resident of Fort Dodge, I feel that I’m the best person to fill this vacancy. I’ve witness first hand the ups and downs of this community . I know how important growth and safety is to the residents of Fort Dodge. I will do my best to be fiscally responsible and to ensure rights and freedom of Fort Dodge residents will not be infringed.

I grew up in Fort Dodge and graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School. I am a veteran who served in the U.S. Navy for 3 1/2 years. I worked in retail and as a gemologist for insurance companies in the Chicago area for over 20 years, and was interested in the city government the last five years. Then I lived and worked in the Edmond, Oklahoma and was involved with city government there also. I returned to Fort Dodge in 2007 and worked in the jewelry department at J.C. Penney’s until the store closed. I have been impressed with some former city council members who I felt worked for the people, and with the people in their decision making. Since I returned in 2007, I have attended a large majority of the city council meetings and learned lots about the ins and outs of the city’s operations. Since that time, I have been appointed by the city council to serve on the Mediacom board for 3 years and was appointed to serve on the Animal Control board last year. I am a member of the Fort Dodge Civitan Club which is a service club which helps adults with disabilities. My goal is to help make Fort Dodge a thriving city and to make people proud to live here.