A new group in the Fort Dodge area has been dedicated to trying to stop teenagers from tuning out politics.

It’s called Teenage Republicans of North Central Iowa, but group President T.J. Augustine said its mission is to give all young people a chance to understand and participate in government.

‘‘One of the biggest things we want to do is just make sure that youth don’t get turned off from government,’’ said Augustine, a sophomore at St. Edmond High School in Fort Dodge. ‘‘We want to make them appreciate the way our government works.’’

Keeping teens interested in politics has become more important recently as young people reach voting age in a time of increasingly bitter campaign ads, said Kristen Sandvig, another St. Edmond sophomore who is the group’s vice president.

‘‘It’s frustrating to see so many youth being turned off by the government,’’ Sandvig said. ‘‘We need to reverse that.’’

The teen Republican group is new to the area. Augustine said he hopes the group will spread to all counties of north central Iowa and include representatives of every school.

Students in eighth through 12th grades in any north central Iowa schools are eligible to join the group. To contact the group, students can log on to http://www.tars.ftdodge.net./

As its first major project, the group is conducting a survey of teen opinions on national issues. The survey will include answers from people who don’t consider themselves to be Republicans, according to Augustine. He said the results will be presented to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin and U.S. Rep. Tom Latham.

‘‘The point to the national leaders is this is what the youth say and you might want to listen to it,’’ Augustine said.

In addition to political activities, group members will volunteer for charitable projects. Augustine said the teens will be working with the Humane Society of North Central Iowa.

In addition to Augustine and Sandvig, the group’s leaders include Jocelyn Ascherl, secretary, and Leah Wafful, chair of the humanitarian committee. Both are students at St. Edmond High School.