Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By David Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a Southern California city’s appeal seeking reinstatement of its ordinance that prevented day laborers from gathering on busy
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — U.S. demand for oil and refined products — including gasoline — is down sharply from last year, so much that United States has actually
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch – NEW YORK — U.S. stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday after European officials agreed to another round of aid for Greece, pushing the Dow industrials briefly above 13,000 for
MASON CITY – Former Mason City council member John Jaszewski has announced his intention to run for the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, in district one. Jaszewski will run as a
by Matt Marquardt – MASON CITY – A project to paint lines on city streets and parking lots is being brought forward by Mason City’s Engineering Department. The 2012 Pavement Marking Program
by Matt Marquardt – MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Supervisors met Tuesday morning at 11:15 a.m. Supervisor Bob Amosson was absent. See full meeting agenda here. County Engineer Mary Kelly
By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times – SANTA ANA, Calif. — A man accused of killing six people — four homeless men and a mother and her son — pleaded not guilty
Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Interstate Power and Light Co.’s tentative plan to build a $700 million natural gas combined cycle power plant is looking less and less tentative. Alliant Energy terminated
Marc Morehouse, CR Gazette – Winter hit Iowa just as the new junior-college quarterback and former Fighting Artichoke landed in Iowa City in mid-January. But it’s OK, Cody Sokol was born in
Rod Boshart, CR Gazette – DES MOINES — The 2012 legislative session’s compressed schedule means time will likely run out this week on a number of issues that lack adequate support to
by Matt Marquardt – MASON CITY – At tonight’s meeting, the City Council will decide whether to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle for $1. This is a program done on a regular basis.
Chelsea Davis, Ottumwa Courier, Iowa – OTTUMWA — An ongoing investigation led officers to arrest two Ottumwans on drug charges. Officers from the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Southeast Iowa Interagency Drug Task
By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – DENVER — The Minnesota Timberwolves possessed every opportunity Monday night to not only surpass .500 once again but also match in a mere 33 games last
James Q. Lynch – CR Gazette – A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Monday, Feb. 20, 2012: $376 MILLION CLIFF: Iowa could face a $376 million loss
Proposed recommendations would encourage manufacturers to develop ‘less distracting’ in-vehicle electronic devices – WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced last week the first-ever federally proposed guidelines to encourage automobile manufacturers
In its monthly scam alert, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is warning the public to be aware of a scam targeting job-seekers. The scammers send cashier’s checks to individuals who respond
by Joe Buttweiler – MASON CITY – What do Santa Claus, a biker chick, an owl and Raggedy Ann have to do with William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? You’ll have to ask
MINNEAPOLIS — Last week in federal court, a jury found a 33–year–old felon from the northeastern Minnesota community of Aurora guilty of possessing a 20–gauge shotgun. On February 10, 2012, following a
By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Xavier Alvarez told of playing hockey for the Detroit Red Wings, marrying a Mexican starlet, piloting a helicopter in Vietnam and suffering gunshot
Q: What’s behind growing support in Congress for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act? A: Lawmakers are responding to a decision by the Obama Administration to disregard the freedom of conscience
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – Despite a new leader at the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and signs that more complaints are being taken seriously, leaders of the National Association for the
By Sahar Issa, McClatchy Newspapers – BAGHDAD — The departure of al-Qaida-affiliated fighters from Iraq to join the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar Assad in Syria has had one benefit, Iraqi officials say:
By Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times – VANCOUVER, B.C. — Scientists are still unraveling last year’s giant Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and some of what they’re finding doesn’t bode well for
Phoenix, AZ – This afternoon, Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers assigned to the U.S. Marshals led Arizona WANTED Violent Offender Task Force arrested Robert Franz, 63, at a truck stop
Farmington, NM – The United States Marshals Service in Farmington arrested Julian Marty Perea in Dulce, NM. Perea was wanted by the State of Arizona on a Grand Jury indictment charging Perea
BIRMINGHAM – An Uzbek national who has lived in the United States since 2009 pleaded guilty on Feb. 13 in federal court to charges of providing material support to terrorist activity, threatening
Mike Hlas, CR Gazette – Matt Bowen, the former Iowa/NFL football player now of television, radio, print (with the Chicago Tribune) and Internet (with the National Football Post), is always a good
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State track and field teams will head south to College Station, Texas for the Big 12 Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday inside the Gilliam Indoor Stadium. Competition
By Dustin Volz, Cronkite News Service – WASHINGTON — Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu’s weekend confirmation that he is gay makes him the fourth openly gay or bisexual candidate seeking a congressional seat
By Paul West, Seema Mehta and Mitchell Landsberg, Tribune Washington Bureau – MUSKEGON, Mich. — With a new poll hinting at a tightening race in the pivotal Michigan primary, Republican presidential contender Rick
Rod Boshart, CR Gazette – DES MOINES – A Senate subcommittee on Monday approved a bill designed to legalize online poker in Iowa and bring it under state regulation despite warnings from
Steve Gravelle, CR Gazette – The recent increase in gas prices is likely to continue through spring, but the demand isn’t there to keep prices in record territory for long. “We’ll peak
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times – The latest federal statistics that measure the performance of the nation’s airlines offered some good news for passengers and some bad. First the good news: In
By Michael Smerconish, The Philadelphia Inquirer – So it wasn’t about the candy after all. This week, lead singer David Lee Roth resolved a question of rock lore: why Van Halen wanted no
By Sarah Zupko, PopMatters.com – Sleigh Bells — “Reign of Terror”: Considering Sleigh Bells’ stratospheric ascent, the obvious question to ask about “Reign of Terror” is whether they can continue to top themselves
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — AeroShot Pure Energy, the inhalable caffeine product that went on sale last month, will be investigated by Food and Drug Administration officials concerned
By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The F-35, the military’s next-generation fighter jet, has begun its first flight tests carrying external missiles at Edwards Air Force Base in the
By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Consumer Reports has sent its editors to Silicon Valley and to a special Ford proving ground in Dearborn, Mich., to look at how
By Pratibha Tuladhar – KATMANDU, Nepal — Police in Nepal arrested 80 people on Monday for using cannabis at the country’s biggest Hindu temple, in the capital Katmandu, where celebrations for the
By Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times – STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum blamed the “radical environmental policies” of the Obama administration Monday for rising gas prices, and said he would