Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
(DES MOINES, Iowa) BestBrandValues.com, a Florida-based online membership club retailer, has agreed to pay $135,000 in refunds to Iowans who had been charged for memberships in the company’s programs. The company, headquartered
By Jeff Shain, The Orlando Sentinel – LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Adam Scott ditched the cautious approach so often preached in major championships and wound up flirting with a record, grabbing
By Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel – CHICAGO — His hope is flickering, but not extinguished. Miami Marlins President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest has confidence in this team, that it can
By Eduardo A. Encina, The Baltimore Sun – MINNEAPOLIS — Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter calls the month after the All-Star break the true dog days of summer. It’s the critical time
MADRID — Beijing gold medalist Rafael Nadal will be forced to miss the London Olympics due to his chronic knee problems. The world No. 3 has been trying to rehab his knees
By Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – WASHINGTON — Rep. Michele Bachmann is facing a public firestorm over her accusations that the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the federal government and working for
By Franco Ordonez and Matthew Schofield, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The families of three U.S. citizens killed in drone strikes last year in Yemen filed suit Wednesday against Defense Secretary Leon
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Mesa, AZ man was staying with friends in Mason City when he purchased a “Triple Fortune” instant-scratch game and ended up winning a top prize of $10,000.
By Patrick J. McDonnell and Emily Alpert, Los Angeles Times – BEIRUT — Russia and China on Thursday vetoed a draft United Nations resolution that could have led to sanctions against the
by Jody Spear – Mason City’s traveling softball team, Crossfire, will be heading for national tournaments in Minnesota Thursday. Click here to view photos. Crossfire is a twelve-and-under girls softball team and
(DES MOINES, Iowa) An Orange City company that pleaded guilty to federal felony charges of conspiring to manipulate the ready-mix concrete market will pay the State of Iowa $145,000 in exchange for
(DES MOINES, Iowa) A Polk County judge today issued a temporary injunction against a California man doing business as “Iowa Corporate Compliance” after Attorney General Tom Miller alleged it to be a
By Barry Koltnow, The Orange County Register – The box-office numbers for the blockbusters “The Hunger Games” and “The Avengers” were pretty impressive earlier this year, but there are many movie fans
By Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – Forget Crosby, Stills and Nash and maybe even Crazy Horse. Jonathan Demme might be Neil Young’s ultimate collaborator. The third tête-a-tête between the “Philadelphia” filmmaker
By Susan King and Rene Lynch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Hey, wait a sec, is this the Oscars or the Emmys? Several big-screen stars — including Kevin Costner, Nicole
By Susan King and Rene Lynch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — As HBO dominated the Emmy nominations on Thursday morning, nominees in the outstanding miniseries or movie category ranked among
By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves’ tireless, seemingly timeless pursuit of restricted free agent Nicolas Batum finally did end on Wednesday, when Portland officially matched the rich
By Christopher Kelly, McClatchy Newspapers – Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” aims to be nothing less than the be-all, end-all of the comic-book genre, a movie that encapsulates all the superhero
By Frances Robles, McClatchy Newspapers – MIAMI — George Zimmerman went through almost $36,000 of contributions in 18 days spent mostly in jail, spending a bulk of his newfound cash on telecommunications,
By Lisa Mascaro, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans have begun a drumbeat of opposition to Pentagon cuts they agreed to last summer as part of the debt deal with
By Carlos Sadovi, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Tiesha Powell has a new nickname for her 10-month-old son: “Aladdin.” A friend suggested it after little Kyan survived a fall from the family’s
By Tonya Root, McClatchy Newspapers – NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.— The pilot of a plane carrying a banner jumped from his aircraft just before it crashed into the ocean near North Myrtle
By Jeremy Kelley, Dayton Daily News – BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Aware that jobs and the economy are key issues in the election, both presidential campaigns Wednesday pointed to jobs studies that
By Rene Stutzman and Jeff Weiner, The Orlando Sentinel – ORLANDO, Fla. — George Zimmerman told a national TV audience on Wednesday that he doesn’t regret anything that happened the night he
By Richard A. Serrano, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The ATF’s acting director has warned agents they risk “consequences” if they complain to anyone outside their chain of command, which some
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times – SAN DIEGO — The three people accused of killing a 22-year-old Marine wife were engaged in a sadistic sexual lifestyle that may be linked to
By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times – JERUSALEM — As Israeli victims of the Bulgarian bus bombing began arriving home Thursday, security officials said they now believe the attack was carried out
MASON CITY – Accused Mason City drug dealer Timothy Lee Rucker, age 37, entered voluntary negotiated pleas of guilty to three drug charges brought against him by the North Iowa Drug Task
WASHINGTON – Cincinnati landlord Henry E. Bailey agreed to the entry of an $855,000 civil judgment against him, after admitting that he violated the Fair Housing Act as alleged in a complaint
WASHINGTON – Aleksandr Suvorov, of Estonia, was sentenced today to seven years in prison for his role in two separate hacking schemes involving a total of more than 240,000 stolen credit card
WASHINGTON – A Maine resident was charged in a criminal complaint unsealed today in the District of New Hampshire for allegedly engaging in a type of cyber extortion known as “sextortion,” announced
The following post appears courtesy of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division. The pitch is simple. You receive a call from a foreign lottery announcing that you have won money, a
Following is a comment from coach Kirk Ferentz in regard to Marcus Binns: “Due to injuries, Marcus Binns has not been an active member of the Iowa football program for over one
Trish Mehaffey, CR Gazette – The state auditor’s office released a special investigation Wednesday of the Amana Colonies Land Use District which identified more than $48,000 of improper disbursements, including salary paid
Marc Morehouse, CR Gazette – Former McDowell Senior High School football star Greg Garmon pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia Wednesday morning at the Erie County Courthouse, according to Erie (Pa.)
Trish Mehaffey, CR Gazette – A 17-year-old accused of killing his grandparents in May is now facing another charge, in adult court, of assaulting a girl with the intent to sexually abuse
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – UPDATE: U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley plans to make a direct request to the FBI director to provide “all assistance available” to the search for two missing
by Jody Spear – HAMPTON – The Franklin County Fair officially kicked of Wednesday, and there was plenty to do before that and yet this week. On Monday there was an Open
Op-ed submitted by One-eyed – I’m not even sure where to start. But from all the comments to a recent article, it just goes to show how narrow minded and brain washed
From Senator Charles Grassley – The highest court in the land issued a landmark decision just days before the United States celebrated its 236th anniversary declaring independence from a tax-happy monarchy. I