Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
NASHVILLE, April 26 (UPI) — George Jones, the iconic country music singer known by generations for his distinctive voice and phrasing, died Friday in Nashville at 81, his publicist said. He was
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa State women’s 4 x 1600-meter relay made history Thursday in Drake Stadium. The Cyclone foursome of Maggie Gannon, Dani Stack, Crystal Nelson and Ej Okoro became
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad today granted Rasberry Williams’ commutation request. Williams, age 67, committed first-degree murder on July 20, 1974, in Black Hawk County. A jury convicted Williams of
MASON CITY – A Manly man was stopped by a Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday and arrested for drug possession. According to the sheriff’s office, Michael Patrick Reich, 26, was
JERUSALEM, April 25 (UPI) — The United States is planning a Middle East summit in Washington in June to push the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward, officials said. Unidentified sources in the United
OLYMPIA, Wash., April 26 (UPI) — State officials in Colorado and Washington say they are struggling to prepare health and safety guidelines for recently legalized recreational marijuana. Marijuana, like other agricultural commodities,
FOREST CITY, IOWA, April 26, 2013 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), a leading United States (U.S.) recreation vehicle manufacturer, is renovating the Company’s Rally Grounds Activity Complex. The Winnebago Industries® Rally Grounds
MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board campground opening date has been postponed due to the unseasonably cool and wet spring. The 2013 CGCCB campground opening date is set for
by Matt Marquardt – A very knowledgeable NIT reader pointed me in the direction of an interesting story that appeared this week in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The story, in a nutshell,
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, April 25 (UPI) — A hunger strike by inmates at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is in its third month, with 93 prisoners thought to be participating,
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that the redesigned $100 note will begin circulating on October 8, 2013. This note, which incorporates new security features such as a blue,
MANCHESTER, Ill., April 25 (UPI) — A man suspected of killing a Manchester, Ill., family of five carried a 6-year-old survivor of the shooting to a neighbor’s house, officials said. Rick Smith,
KABUL, Afghanistan, April 25 (UPI) — The war against the Taliban in Afghanistan is being won, the commander of the international military coalition said Thursday. U.S. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford said progress
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — Incorporating hybrid vehicles into the U.S. government’s fleet will save it the cost of buying 1 million gallons of gasoline per year, an administrator said. General Services
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — A bill advanced by the House Natural Resources Committee would prevent President Obama from delaying the Keystone XL pipeline, the committee chairman said. The full House committee
DAMASCUS, Syria, April 25 (UPI) — Syrian officials have begun trying to persuade the United States to change sides and to stop supporting the country’s rebels, The New York Times reported. Among
DALLAS, April 25 (UPI) — The mother of a past U.S. president and wife of another said Thursday in Dallas she doesn’t want to be the mother of a second president. Barbara
From Rep. Sharon Steckman – With one week left to go before the scheduled end date – May 4 for the 2013 session – we still have much to be accomplished. At
OMAHA – United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Michael A. Smith, age 30, of Omaha, was convicted today by a federal jury for aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.
By Todd Von Ehwegen, Conservation Education Manager, Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board – In a spring that has been very stubborn in arriving, good things come to those who wait! One natural
SEOUL, April 25 (UPI) — China is considering informal, trilateral discussions with South Korea and the United States on North Korea, an official in Seoul said Thursday. Conducting the so-called 1.5-track security
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — Former President Bill Clinton has joined Twitter with the handle @billclinton and already has more than 200,000 followers. Clinton, who made his first Twitter post on Comedy
NABLUS, West Bank, April 25 (UPI) — More than 700 olive trees planted by Palestinians were uprooted by Israeli forces Thursday in the West Bank, a Palestinian parliamentarian says. Najah Abu Bakr,
CINCINNATI, April 25 (UPI) — The family of a woman killed in a drive-by shooting in Detroit lost a bid Thursday to reinstate a lawsuit against former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. A federal
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 25 (UPI) — Swedish police said they found suspected marijuana and an unlicensed stun gun when they raided singer-songwriter Justin Bieber’s tour bus, but plan no arrests. “We found
ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, Md., April 25 (UPI) — A cyber center of excellence near Fort Meade, Md., was officially opened Thursday by Lockheed Martin. The center — 56,000-square-feet in size — will further
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., April 25 (UPI) — A worker at a Connecticut meat and poultry company was busted on allegations of stealing $10,000 worth of chicken wings and other meat. Police said recently
BRUSSELS, April 25 (UPI) — Google says it has agreed to change the way it presents search results in the wake of a European investigation of whether it unfairly promoted its own
DALLAS, April 25 (UPI) — Former President George H.W. Bush expressed joy at attending the dedication of the presidential library named for his son, George W. Bush, in Dallas Thursday. The elder
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 25 (UPI) — Google says takedown requests by governments worldwide to remove content from its services have hit an all-time high. Between July and December 2012, the search
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — U.S. mortgage rates hit record lows or close to them in the latest week, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday. Rates slid for the fourth
DALLAS, April 25 (UPI) — Five current and past U.S. presidents spoke at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library that Bush dedicated with faith in the country’s future. “The
MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board has constructed a new “Equestrian Trailer Parking Only” lot area at the Lime Creek Conservation Area. The new equestrian parking lot is located
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — The U.S. State Department stood by its probe of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, against a House Republican report questioning its actions. The
REDMOND, Wash., April 25 (UPI) — Microsoft says it will unveil the successor to its Xbox 360 gaming console at an introductory event at its Redmond, Wash., campus next month. The May
CUPERTINO, Calif., April 25 (UPI) — Apple says a multimedia timeline posted to the music section of iTunes is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the digital music store. Although the
TORONTO, April 25 (UPI) — Canadian astronomers say study of a bizarre binary star system show Einstein’s theory of relativity holds true even in the most extreme condition ever observed. “The unusual
WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) — The U.S. Labor Department said first-time jobless benefits claims dropped by 16,000 to 339,000 in the week that ended last Saturday. The department revised last week’s estimate
DAMASCUS, Syria, April 25 (UPI) — The United Nations said it will examine soil samples in Syria to determine whether chemical weapons have been used against rebel fighters. U.N. investigators will examine