[3] Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa.

In 1872 the long and continuing history of gypsum production in Iowa started when George Ringland, Webb Vincent, and Stillman T. Meservey formed the Fort Dodge Plaster Mills to mine, grind, and prepare gypsum for commercial use.

[citation needed] In 2018, Kris Patrick, Executive Director of Fort Dodge Main Street, stated that Fort Dodge is locally referred to as "Little Chicago" because architects modeled downtown buildings to resemble Chicago in the mid-1900s.

[citation needed] Gypsum rock is processed into drywall and plaster products at several Fort Dodge manufacturing facilities.

[citation needed] In 2022, Cargill announced it would build a corn syrup refinery in Fort Dodge.

[16] At least three major national trucking companies (primarily flatbed carriers serving the drywall industry) are based in Fort Dodge.

One of the laboratories of Fort Dodge Animal Health was built on the site of a former Hormel processing plant.

[citation needed] The Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, a 1,250-bed medium-security state prison, opened in 1998.

It features a parade, beauty pageant, historical reenactments, a buckskinner camp, and live entertainment.

The permanent collection on display includes European and American artists prints, sculptures and paintings.

Fort Dodge maintains several music organizations, including a civic choral society, a city-funded municipal band, regional symphony orchestra, a Christian choral union, and a men's barbershop chorus.

Previous performing bands include Styx, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

It is home to various live music venues hosting a variety of local aspiring artists and bands.

[21][22] Fort Dodge Senior High School serves as a host location for the Iowa State Marching Band Festival, State Solo & Small Ensemble Festival, and regional high school jazz band competitions.

Hawkeye Community Theatre puts on six full-length productions a year of varied genre.

The two local high schools and the community college produce a student-cast musical each Spring.

Snell-Crawford Park (located at Williams Drive and 12th Avenue North) is a local favorite for weekend recreation.

It has a disc golf course, three sand volleyball courts, a jogging/walking/bicycling trail, picnic tables, and grills.

The aquatic center features swimming pools, water slides, and a lazy river.

The 300 acres (1.2 km2) Gypsum City Off-Highway Vehicle Park opened to the public on July 6, 2006.

Fort Dodge is a top tubing destination in the state, offering the swift and clear waters of Lizard Creek, solitude on the Des Moines River from Fort Dodge to the Dolliver Memorial State Park, and the nearby lake at Brushy Creek.

Woodman Hollow State Preserve lies roughly 7 miles southeast of Fort Dodge.

[25] Duncombe Elementary closed briefly in 2015 due to structural issues, and was operating in the former Fair Oaks Middle School.

Fort Dodge has been the location of Iowa High School Athletic Association championship events.

Currently, the cross country championships are held at John F. Kennedy Park north of the town.

Fort Dodge also hosts the Iowa girls' softball championship tournament at Harlan Rogers Park.

DART (Dodger Area Rapid Transit) maintains six local bus routes that connect to most commercial, medical, and educational locations on weekdays only.