Category: Watercooler

By Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — Forget about the poor, the unemployed and the sinking middle class participating in the democratic process. The race for the presidency is increasingly being bankrolled

By Joan Verdon, The Record (Hackensack N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. — A Teaneck, N.J., shoe maker has joined with a California technology company to create a shoe that uses GPS technology that records

The 2nd of two defendants originally charged with felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver has received a deferred judgment in the case. The charges followed a February 2011 search warrant

Mason City Police were called to Beje Clark at 10:51 a.m. on January 25th to report that 23-year-old Jeffery Alan Morrison had ran from the facility into the nearby woods. A warrant

MASON CITY – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has canceled the Feb. 4 trout stocking at Blue Pit in Mason City, due to poor ice conditions. The DNR will release trout

By Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press – DETROIT — Chrysler’s hourly workers are set to receive profit-sharing checks that will average more than $1,500 per worker, the Detroit Free Press has learned. Fiat

By Tyler Dukes, McClatchy Newspapers – Q: I have several nonusable hard drive-type pieces of equipment that have personal data on them that I cannot access to remove. I need to dispose of

James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – DES MOINES — At least three members of the Iowa Senate are expected to tender their resignations Feb. 1 to save colleagues the challenge of standing for

By Richard Simon, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — Indoor tanning comes with health risks, and congressional Democrats on Wednesday accused the indoor tanning industry of providing false and misleading information about those

By Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — A family member of Don Cornelius arrived at his Mulholland Drive home on Wednesday morning and found the “Soul Train” creator with a

First things first. My hat’s off to John Lee for his stance on the pipe dream of building the Taj Mahal in a time of poor economic reality. Also similar applause goes

By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that

By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Promoters of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival raised eyebrows in the concert business last fall when they decided to clone the

By Mike Petersen of Mason City – February-Valentines, it’s the month of romance. I have a challenge for you guys, how about starting now we treat all the ladies with total respect

By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Norovirus took the top spot for infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals from 2008 to 2009 and was responsible for most department closures as

by Jody Spear – MASON CITY – What started out as a routine vehicle offense stop early Tuesday morning resulted in a high speed car chase south of Clear Lake. At approximately 1:35 a.m., near

IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Former University of Iowa men’s basketball player, and Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, Roy Marble has worked in conjunction with Brian Meeks on a book entitled Two Decades

When I retrieved my paper from the mailbox this morning and opened it I thought I was having a nightmare. I could not believe my eyes when I read the proposed projected

By Eileen Ambrose, The Baltimore Sun – Marlene Partridge and her husband have a six-figure retirement income, no debt and pay off their credit cards each month. Yet when the 62-year-old former teacher

Los Angeles Times – From the Los Angeles Times’ Ministry of Gossip blog: ——— NICKI MINAJ TO PERFORM WITH MADONNA IN SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW Slowly but surely, the plans for Madonna’s

By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Gasoline prices, already at record levels for January, rose again over the last week, the Energy Department said. But that wasn’t necessarily

By Virginia Rohan, The Record (Hackensack N.J.) – Have you gone to “The Bark Side” yet? The first in Volkswagen’s ‘The Bark Side’ series of ads was released Jan. 18, as a teaser

By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, veterans of Fox’s sketch comedy “MADtv,” have a new series of their own, the self-titled “Key & Peele.”

By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Segregation of African-Americans in the United States has declined to its lowest point in more than a century, but social and income disparities

By Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press – Should the IRS be picking up the phone and demanding more money? Or at least making a call to discuss options if you’re delinquent? It’s an

By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Federal Aviation Administration has pushed back the date when it will propose new rules for the use of small drones in national

Effective at 4:00 p.m. today, January 30, 2012, the Alternate Side Parking ordinance and Emergency Snow Route are suspended until further notice. Citizens should stay tuned to local media outlets to receive

By Ellen Warren, Chicago Tribune – Who doesn’t know that junk food is bad for you? It’s empty calories, puts on the pounds and is awfully, terribly, almost impossibly hard to resist. It

Rod Boshart, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – DES MOINES — Proponents seeking to rein in the unregulated “wild, wild West” environment of illegal online poker in Iowa are girding for another legislative

By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — With an estimated $20 million opening weekend under his belt, Liam Neeson has secured his status as the thinking man’s action star. “The

The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa – Second-guessing gadflies, prying media and an old-fashioned Midwestern desire to be efficient and civil can tempt government officials to undermine open meetings and open records laws.

by Jody Spear – MASON CITY – Saturday afternoon was a sunny, temperature friendly day for the “Cardboard Classic” sledding competition at the East Park Sledding Hill in Mason City. The Relay