Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Andy Grimm, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Miguel Fuentes was back on patrol with his fellow Guardian Angels on Wednesday, a day after he and three other members of the volunteer
By Tina Susman, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — Mary Richardson Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was found dead on the family’s property north of New York
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite the third round of the NJCAA Women’s National Golf Championship not getting completed on Wednesday due to darkness, all three NIACC golfers were able to get their
LEVELLAND, Texas – NIACC sophomore Tanesha Edmond (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) won the heptathlon at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships at South Plains College on Wednesday. Edmond
By Bob Cooney, Philadelphia Daily News – PHILADELPHIA — Doug Collins knew it was coming. He warned his team about it, told the media about and fretted over it. Still there was
By Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Now that they’ve been vindicated, three Hutaree militia defendants are getting their guns and ammunition back. The court concluded that they are entitled
By Janet Stobart and Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times – LONDON — Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic confronted the accusations against him at the opening of his war crimes trial Wednesday
By Jon Stephenson, McClatchy Newspapers – KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It was early in the morning, perhaps 2 a.m., when gunfire awoke 14-year-old Rafiullah. He looked outside the house he’d been sleeping in
(Mason City) – The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health has investigated nine cases of pertussis over the past week. Disease Prevention and Investigation Officials urge individuals to check their immunization
National Economic Council Releases Report on Moving America’s Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Forward WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama will visit a small business in the Washington, DC area where he will
AMES – The Iowa DOT will hold a vehicle and large equipment auction on June 2, 2012. Here is a map to the auction site. The following are the items that
MASON CITY – During a press conference held Wednesday May 16, officials with North Iowa Area Community college (NIACC) and Wartburg College announced a new partnership. Wartburg College and NIACC have entered
From Jeff Oestmann, CEO and General Manager, Soy Energy, LLC: “We are grateful no one was injured in the fire that took place at the Soy Energy plant yesterday. We are still
By Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune – Once on life support, the proposal to play semifinal playoff games on campus is now dead. The concept originally came from the Big Ten, and many
By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times – OKLAHOMA CITY — Beyond all the speed, juvenescence and everything rolled into what Kobe Bryant called the “youthful exuberance” of the Oklahoma City Thunder, there’s
By Joseph Goodman, McClatchy Newspapers – MIAMI — Two players can’t be better than an entire team every night. In the Miami Heat’s first full game without forward Chris Bosh, Miami lost
By Rachel Blount, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — As Cheryl Reeve prepared to strike a pose in front of a white paper background, a photographer’s assistant handed her the ultimate prop.
From Chris Watts of Mason City – I’d like to send some THANKS here and explain a little more regarding the 19th St. S.E. beautification project. A few years back, the North
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – All three NIACC women’s golfers improved their positions in day two of the NJCAA Women’s National Golf Tournament on Tuesday. Freshman Mikayla Smith (Mason City, IA) had the
By Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times – SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In the end, the Los Angeles Clippers just got beat in every single way by an efficient San Antonio Spurs team.
by Matt Marquardt – MASON CITY – The Mason City Council met Tuesday night and agreed to purchase a Type II ambulance. According to memos from City Administrator Brent Trout, the City
Gregory Francis Austin, 32, of Chesterfield Township, was arrested and charged today with production, receipt, and possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today. Ms. McQuade was joined
PROVIDENCE, RI—Louisa M. Knight, 43, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence today to setting fire to her Warwick, Rhode Island home on July 11, 2011, then fraudulently collecting nearly $42,000
PENSACOLA, FL—B Christopher P. Gunn, 31, previously of Walton County, Florida, was indicted today on multiple charges involving the online sextortion and cyberstalking of young girls ranging in age from 13 to
WASHINGTON – A Japanese citizen was sentenced yesterday in Los Angeles to 17 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for conspiracy to advertise child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer
AMES, Iowa – Growing up in Gilbert, Ben Durbin always wanted to be a Cyclone. Now he is an Iowa Stater. The former Gilbert first-team all-state linebacker has transferred to Iowa State
By Jim Souhan, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Since the beginning of the 2011 season, the Twins’ record is 73-125. Since July 18, their record is 29-76. This can’t go on,
By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — After architect Frank Gehry redesigned a memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower in the nation’s capital, will Ike’s family like it now? Susan Eisenhower complained earlier that
By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — There is something sweetly old-fashioned about the phrase “talent show” — like “quilting bee” or “sack race” or “bake off,” it calls up
By Jeremy C. Owens,San Jose Mercury News – SAN JOSE, Calif. — As it prepares for its highly anticipated IPO, Facebook continued with the business of being the world’s largest social network
By Madison T. Shockley II, Los Angeles Times – President Obama’s conversion from nay to yay on same-sex marriage raises an interesting political question: What happens to his support among black voters who,
By Ahmad Pathoni – JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police Tuesday said they had refused to issue a concert permit for U.S. pop star Lady Gaga, citing objections from conservative Muslim groups. The
By Carlos Sadovi, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — A former Buddhist priest from Stickney Township, Ill., was arrested in Alaska after officials issued an arrest warrant charging the man with sexually assaulting a
By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Obama administration is stepping up its courtship of active-duty military personnel and their families by offering them a free pass to any
By Dan Hinkel, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Lake County, Ill., prosecutors have dropped rape charges against Bennie Starks, who spent 20 years in prison before DNA pointed away from him. Assistant State’s
By Richard A. Serrano and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON —The FBI has opened a preliminary inquiry into the $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “We are aware
By Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times – DES MOINES, Iowa — Visiting the state that launched Barack Obama’s path to the presidency, Mitt Romney went on offense Tuesday, accusing his rival of carelessly
Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – CEDAR RAPIDS — National restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday abruptly closed its restaurant at 2215 Edgewood Rd. SW on Tuesday, laying off about 30-35 employees. Justin Powrie, a
By Linda Robertson, McClatchy Newspapers – DALLAS — Michael Phelps intends to make the 2012 London Games his third and final Olympics while gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson hope to be Olympians
By Rob Manker, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Two months into her husband’s sentence, Patti Blagojevich has shared her thoughts on visiting the Colorado prison where former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is