The Karl King Band is the municipal band for Fort Dodge, Iowa. This ensemble has historically provided a summer concert series in the Karl King Bandshell in beautiful Oleson Park and an indoor concert series held in the auditorium of Iowa Central Community College.   These concerts are free to all, and are provided as a service by the City of Fort Dodge. Jerrold P. Jimmerson is the Director of the King Band, and Dan Cassady serves as the band's Assistant Conductor.  Duane Oley Olson is the band’s announcer.  Learn more about the Band and visit the online archive of photos related to the history of the Karl L. King Municipal Band of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

The Indoor Winter Concert Season will begin February 20. The Karl L. King Municipal Band's 2011 winter concerts will be held on February 20, March 13, and April 10 in the Decker Auditorium on the Iowa Central Community College campus in Fort Dodge.  All concerts will begin at 3:30 pm.  There is no admission charge. FEBRUARY 20, 2011 - Karl L. King Birthday Concert (King's birth date was February 21, 1891)   MARCH 13, 2011 - Irish Concert (St. Patrick's Day March 17)   APRIL 10, 2011 - Scholarship Concert/ ICCC Focus Concert - (The Caribbean) View photos from this summer's concerts. June 13 Flag Day Concert - - - June 20 & June 27 Concerts - - - July 4 Concert July 11 Concert - - - July 18 Concert - - - July 25 Concert View photos of the bandshell during the renovation process. View concert photos from previous seasons Concert Archive 2010 Karl L. King Band Municipal Band of Fort Dodge, Iowa The Karl L. King Municipal Band was honored by the Iowa Bandmasters Association by being selected to perform at their 80th annual State Conference.  This three-day event featured some of the finest school and professional bands from throughout Iowa, along with clinicians and other performing groups from throughout the United States.  The conference was held at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. - more -  Fort Dodge’s newest monument was dedicated in a ceremony held October 22, 2006.  The life-size monument to famed band composer and director, Karl L. King, was placed in the Karl L. King Park in downtown Fort Dodge and was first seen by the public following an open house of the Karl King Archives.  The dedication ceremony included a program by the Karl L. King Municipal Band and the introduction of special guests and an address by former Fort Dodge mayor, Judge Albert Habhab.  - program photos -2006 Open House Statue proposed - Statue in progress - Statue mounting process - Dedication speakers - Dedication program

Scholarships awarded by the Karl King Band were announced at the 2010 Scholarship Concert.  Decorah bassoonist Rachel Leeper, freshman at the University Iowa, was the major scholarship winner. View more photos of the scholarship audition participants.

	What's New with the Band?
	The Karl King Band was the featured performing ensemble for the 2006 Summer Meet of Windjammers, Unlimited.   - photos -

The Karl King Band performed in the Iowa State Capitol to promote a postage stamp in his honor.

Iowa Public Radio's Rick Fredericksen  interviews Oley about Karl King.

 
• Those with fast internet will enjoy an mpg video of McNamara's Band (52 mb) from last winter's Irish Concert.

• USAToday featured the Karl King Band in an article published March 29, 2009.

• Read an article from the Albert Lea Tribune about the statue of Karl King.

• View photos of previous concert seasons.

• The Iowa Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has included the Karl King Bandshell in a list of Iowa's most significant structures.  Iowa Public Television has produced and aired a 40 minute excerpt from its 2 hour documentary featuring those structures, entitled A Century of Iowa Architecture. The entire documentary was shown in the spring of 2005.

• The band has acquired an equipment vehicle.

(click to enlarge)

Dr. Timothy Rhea, director of bands at Texas A & M University
in College Station, was the special guest conductor for the June 15 concert.

• You can download and view two short videos of Karl King's The Walking Frog galop performed this last winter by the Karl King Band. They are in .mov format (Quicktime) and each is about 8 MB in size.

• New information and photos of Carl Quist, first director of the band now known as the Karl King Band have recently been received from Mr. Quist's grandson and are archived on this website.

• Download a short mpg clip of the July 6, 2003, finale of Stars and Stripes Forever (3 MB .mpg).

• Download a short mpg clip of the King Band playing Americans We (1.4 MB .mpg).