Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – A roundup of legislative and Capitol news items of interest for Thursday, April 12, 2012: REJECTED: Iowa Senate Democrats blocked the confirmation of a Dubuque woman
Federal agents seized 22 guns, bulletproof vests and nearly $150,000 in cash from the home of the Arlington strip club owner arrested this week in an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting Mayor Robert
By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune – ST. LOUIS — Ian Stewart’s long wait finally came to an end Friday in the first inning of a 9-5 Cubs victory over the Cardinals in the
Henry County, IOWA — On March 17, 2012, at approximately 5:10pm, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of possible human remains being found along Old Hwy 34, near the Henry-Jefferson
By Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times – MINNEAPOLIS — The Los Angeles Clippers finally got one over on the Minnesota Timberwolves. (PHOTO: Los Angeles Clippers Chris Paul, right, grabbed a rebound away from Minnesota
By Paul Richter, Tribune Washington Bureau – ISTANBUL, Turkey — World powers began potentially crucial talks with Iran on Friday over its disputed nuclear program, even as Western officials appeared to rule out
By Tom Lasseter, McClatchy Newspapers – BEIJING — After the embarrassment of a much-publicized rocket launch ending in explosion, North Korea offered a new puzzle Friday for international observers: What will the isolated
MASON CITY – The Mason City Police Department is cautioning citizens to be aware that numerous reports of stolen catalytic converters, typically from General Motors cars, have occurred throughout Mason City. Incidents
By Amy Pavuk, The Orlando Sentinel – ORLANDO, Fla. — The defamation case filed by a Florida mother against Casey Anthony can proceed to trial, an Orange County Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday.
Editorial by Matt Marquardt – Beware, Mason City taxpayers. Mayor Eric Bookmeyer is again on the rampage with your tax dollars. His latest scheme, exposed at last night’s council work session, is
By Carlos Arias, The Orange County Register – UFC welterweight contender Nick Diaz is fighting back. Well, actually it’s his lawyer, Ross Goodman, doing the fighting. Diaz still is awaiting his day in
WILL THE REAL JOHN LEE PLEASE STAND UP. During the campaign for city council, much was said about John Lee. Things that alluded to; “he’s his own man. No one will tell
Rod Boshart, CR Gazette – Iowa lawmakers are girding for the potential of another session shutdown laced with battles over public funding of abortion services. The state budget bill that deals with
Mike Hlas, CR Gazette – Iowa and Iowa State win. Drake and Northern Iowa lose. No surprise there. After decades of quietly and not-so-quietly wishing they didn’t play both Drake and UNI
MASON CITY – A Mason City man was arrested early Friday morning after fleeing from an MCPD officer. At 12:23 a.m., an officer attempted to stop a vehicle for an equipment violation
Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – A rating agency Tuesday downgraded $194 million of Coralville municipal debt, citing the city’s heavy borrowing against tax increment finance (TIF) funds and need to subsidize its
By Anne Blythe, McClatchy Newspapers – GREENSBORO, N.C. — The scandal that engulfed John Edwards shattered his image as a devoted family man and led to his indictment. But as the former Democratic
By Will Rice – WASHINGTON — You usually can’t reverse a bad decision by simply doing nothing, but that’s exactly the opportunity we have at the end of this year. That’s when
By Thomas J. Donohue – WASHINGTON — The IRS deadline for filing 2011 tax returns is upon us. Would you think I’m crazy if I said you should enjoy it? As painful
By Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Child safety seats are difficult to properly install in cars, according to an insurance industry research group, because of the design of most
DES MOINES – Community, faith and labor organizations from all around the country have issued a joint call for a renewed movement of direction targeting the nation’s most abusive corporations, calling it
By Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The weird warmth of March brought out the tank tops and shorts in many parts of the country. In fact, it was the warmest March
By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch – WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in February for the largest percentage drop since May 2009, according to a government report released Thursday that led analysts to
Dave DeWitte, CR Gazette – Iowa remained one of the leading states in a rapidly expanding wind power industry in 2011, according to a trade group’s annual report. Wind power capacity rose
By Colin Covert, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Writing the TV series “Lost” and the sci-fi thriller “Cloverfield,” Drew Goddard made a reputation as the man to see for familiar-seeming story concepts
By John Brennan, The Record (Hackensack N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. — Jayson Williams, the former all-star center for the Nets, is expected to become a free man Friday — 10 years after his
By Andy Furillo, McClatchy Newspapers – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — They said it was “reasonable.” They said it was “fair.” But don’t ask Gerald and Elizabeth Hawkins if the deal that sent Quran Mahammed
AMES, Iowa – Recently, several motor vehicle crashes with school buses have prompted the Iowa Department of Transportation to remind motorists of when it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times – SEATTLE— Two U.S. Coast Guard members have been shot to death at a communications station in Kodiak, Alaska, and officials have placed the large base and
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times – SEATTLE — The on-again, off-again Keystone XL pipeline gained new traction this week in Nebraska. State legislators authorized the state Department of Environmental Quality to begin
By Melanie Mason, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — A “super PAC” created by an influential labor organization will focus its efforts on motivating voters on the ground, rather than financing television commercials.
By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Rick Santorum said Thursday that he ended his presidential bid because he ran out of money, his campaign was in debt and he
By Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — There’s only one rival that may be able to trip up the seemingly unstoppable “The Hunger Games” at the box office this weekend:
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times – Jack Tramiel, the tough and aggressive Commodore International founder who brought millions of people into the world of personal computers in the late 1970s and early
By Barbara Demick And Jung-Yoon Choi, Los Angeles Times – SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea failed in its much-hyped effort to launch a satellite into space Friday, undercutting its claims to be
OSAGE, Iowa – Two Osage Green Devils will be NIACC Trojans next basketball season. Samantha Rogers and Jessica Rogers became the fourth and fifth signees for Coach Kelli Terrell’s team this week
MASON CITY, Iowa – Mason City High School’s third all-time leading scorer Sam Skogen has signed to play for NIACC men’s basketball and coach Mark Mohl next season. Skogen, a unanimous first-team
Austin Daily Herald, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corp. is rewarding excellent companies. Hormel Foods recently awarded 75 suppliers with a 2011 Spirit of Excellence Award for their roles in the company’s continuous
James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette – DES MOINES – Iowa House Republicans scaled-back their tax increment financing (TIF) reforms, but opponents still called them job-killers. House File 2460 that would limit the