Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Rick Hummel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – ST. LOUIS — In any comparison of big league catchers, the St. Louis Cardinals’ Yadier Molina, a four-time Gold Glover and four-time All-Star, usually wins. On
By Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – LONDON — Evan Jager didn’t plan to run to the front of the pack in his heat of the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday. It just kind
By Dylan Hernandez, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Dodgers made a significant statement Friday and it had nothing to do with their 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger
By Sergei L. Loiko, Los Angeles Times – MOSCOW — Amid the continued uprising in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday issued somewhat contradictory statements about a group of its naval warships
By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The testimony phase of the federal civil rights suit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has ended and lawyers will be submitting their
By Anne Danahy, McClatchy Newspapers – STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Saying the NCAA has handled the Penn State sanctions in “a fundamentally inappropriate” way, the Paterno family plans to appeal the penalties against
By Matthew Walberg and Steve Schmadeke, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Kathleen Savio’s sister glared at Drew Peterson from the witness stand Friday. Later, her face and voice tightened as she recalled learning
By Mark K. Matthews, The Orlando Sentinel – WASHINGTON — Space missions are never easy, but what NASA plans to do on Mars early Monday morning is bold even by agency standards. At
By Monica Eng, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — As the Midwest crunches into sweet corn season, a new type will be appearing on grocery store shelves — even though shoppers have no way
By Rene Stutzman, The Orlando Sentinel – SANFORD, Fla. — The judge in the George Zimmerman case won’t make a ruling for more than a week in an unrelated “stand your ground” murder
By Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times – NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The issue of how much Mitt Romney has paid in taxes in recent years continued to hound the presumptive Republican presidential
by Jody Spear and Kelly Meyer – HAMPTON – Around 5:00 pm Friday, a Suburban with camper caught fire at the Casey’s General Store in Hampton. It was reported, by a witness,
By Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama turned quickly away from the jobs numbers to a more convenient political topic Friday, suggesting that Republicans have their “priorities
By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department continued to wind down its stake in bailed-out insurance giant American International Group on Friday, announcing the sale of $4.5 billion
By Kim Geiger, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The American public increasingly favors allowing same-sex marriage, but most of the country’s representatives in Congress are not convinced. A new survey by the
By Kathleen Hennessey, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s top regulator is heading for the door. The White House announced Friday that Cass Sunstein, the so-called regulatory czar, will be
By Paul Richter, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday warned China against further moves to tighten control over a disputed section of the South China Sea, as tensions
By Shashank Bengali, McClatchy Newspapers – LONDON — Wojdan Shaherkani lost her judo bout Friday in 82 seconds, but that was long enough for the shy teenager to make history. The first female
By Hannah Allam And Austin Tice, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — Syrian insurgents fighting to unseat President Bashar Assad face a growing list of accusations that they’ve carried out executions and torture, muddying
By Stacy St. Clair, Chicago Tribune – LONDON — With the U.S. women’s volleyball team trailing an inferior Serbian side by three points in the first set Friday, Destinee Hooker took over. She
MCT FORUM, by James Jay Carafano, The Heritage Foundation – They are flustered in Great Falls, Mont. Dallas is dithering. California has questions. Alamogordo, N.M., is anxious. From one corner of
McClatchy-Tribune News Service – The following editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times: Several Roman Catholic organizations have challenged Obama administration rules requiring religious colleges and hospitals (but not churches themselves) to
By Rick Bentley, McClatchy Newspapers – LOS ANGELES — Director Len Wiseman says Kate Beckinsale, his wife and one of the leads in his latest movie “Total Recall,” is awed by the
By Melissa Ruggieri, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – ATLANTA — Butch Trucks is rarely at a loss for words. Whether reminiscing about the Allman Brothers, reiterating the band’s love for its annual shows
Statement issued by Sen. Amanda Ragan of Mason City MASON CITY, IOWA – In a momentous step forward, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that—thanks to the Affordable Care
(Mason City) – The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health is excited to announce the return of the Walking School Bus Program this fall. The Walking School Bus Program utilizes adult
LONDON – Former Iowa State NCAA champion and Olympian Lisa Uhl saved her best for the biggest race of her career. Uhl placed 13th in Friday’s Olympic Games 10,000 meters. Uhl’s time
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the state of Michigan and its chief elections officials to help ensure that military service members, their family
WASHINGTON – David Hausman, an antiques dealer in Manhattan, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to obstruction of justice and creating false records, in relation to illegal rhinoceros horn trafficking, announced
By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times – NEWCASTLE, Britain — Goals by Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux rescued a sputtering offense Friday and lifted the U.S. to a surprisingly difficult 2-0 win over
By Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times – Ten quick-hit observations as coaches, coast to coast, continue to scour for players off Penn State’s roster: 1. While it announced plans this week to broaden
SAN JOSE – The chief executive officer of two Bay Area universities was arrested Thursday following his indictment on charges stemming from a long-term probe spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
By Andrew Tangel and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — The high-speed trading arms race being waged on Wall Street has finally claimed its first major casualty. Knight Capital
Delores M. Grady, 81, of 100 Chickasaw St., Rudd, Iowa died Wednesday August 1, 2012 at her home in Rudd. A funeral service will be held Saturday August 4, 2012 at 1