Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Randy Lewis and Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Regulators in the U.S. and Europe on Friday approved Universal Music Group’s $1.9 billion acquisition of EMI Group Ltd.’s music
By Danny O’Neil, The Seattle Times – RENTON, Wash. — There is an excitement in the uncertainty. That becomes clear as defensive coordinator Gus Bradley begins talking about the challenge of facing
By Phil Miller, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — This wasn’t a Mountain West bottom-feeder, nor a Mid-American little brother, and certainly no Colonial Athletic nobody. The Minnesota Gophers finally tested themselves
By Ed Meyer, Akron Beacon Journal – AKRON, Ohio — The last two defendants in the drug-related death of 17-month-old Patrick Nicholas Lerch pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to the homicide.
By Paula McMahon, Sun Sentinel – FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man who claimed he had a $500,000,000 Federal Reserve note could face a lengthy prison sentence and deportation after he pleaded
By Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times – SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Christian Bracamontes was a 16-year-old on a bicycle the night he and a friend, one gun between them, tried to rob four Riverside
By Tiaa Susman, Los Angeles Times – NEW YORK — A 400-pound Siberian tiger named Bachuta soon will be back on display at the Bronx Zoo after a man jumped from the
QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador has suggested that it take WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden for questioning under its protection, in the latest move in the diplomatic spat between the two countries.
By Patricia Mazzei, The Miami Herald – MIAMI —Paul Ryan got the Cuban exile seal of approval Saturday at a campaign rally in Little Havana where he pledged to hold a hard
By Rosemary R. Sobol and Jennifer Delgado, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Two men were charged with depositing two checks stolen from President Barack Obama’s campaign into bank accounts they fraudulently opened.
By Patrick McDonnell, Los Angeles Times – BEIRUT — The rebel Free Syrian Army said Saturday that it was shifting its command headquarters from Turkey to inside Syria, a move meant to
By David Lightman, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The presidential campaign hits the road next week, with the stakes particularly high for Mitt Romney as he strives to firm up his image
By Mark K. Matthews, Orlando Sentinel – WASHINGTON — Top NASA officials have picked a leading candidate for the agency’s next major mission: construction of an outpost that would send astronauts farther
By Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Just before the opening credits of “The Mindy Project” materialize, Mindy Kaling as her eponymous character has a heart to heart with
By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times – By now, most Americans who take their civic responsibilities seriously have no doubt seen, or at least heard about, Mitt Romney’s peculiar approach to broad-based voter
AMES, Iowa – Sept. 20, 2012 – The draft State Public Participation Process for Transportation Planning document is available for public review and comment. The Iowa Department of Transportation developed this public
By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The nation’s largest retailer has cut out the nation’s largest e-tailer. Wal-Mart has announced it will stop selling Kindles and other Amazon.com-branded products
By Tom Hudson, The Miami Herald – While technophiles bask in the light of Apple’s newest iPhone 5, the darkness may be growing at the owner of the BlackBerry. It was only four
Chicago Tribune – The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune: ——— With the election only weeks away, it should come as no surprise that President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — With a wrecked cruise ship still half submerged off the coast of Italy and Europe mired in economic troubles, the world’s cruise line
Trish Mehaffey, CR Gazette – The Iowa State Bar Association is joining the campaign to support the Iowa judicial merit selection system and all the judges and justices up for retention this
By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — After years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Time Warner Cable has finally struck a deal with the National Football League to carry the NFL
By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel – ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando-based managing editor of MormonThink.com, an online magazine that challenges Mormon teachings, said he faces excommunication because of his writings — including
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — In response to a recent investigation that found “substantial” levels of arsenic in rice and many rice-based products, a group of Democrats
By Claudia Buck, The Sacramento Bee – Paying back taxes can be a daunting, difficult task. This week, Gregory Burke, a Sacramento, Calif., CPA and former IRS auditor, helps readers figure out the
By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org – When a little old lady is thrown out of her home two weeks before Christmas because she didn’t pay a $496 sewage bill, people take notice. At
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State soccer team had little issue with South Dakota in a 7-0 win Sunday at the ISU Soccer Complex. Sophomore Ashley Johnson led the way for the
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – SIDNEY, Mont. — Politicians are quick to extol the virtues of domestic oil drilling while ignoring the tradeoffs. Here in this fast-developing Western oil patch, the
by Jody Spear and Kelly Meyer – DUNCAN, IOWA – The 10th Annual Duncanfest was celebrated September 15th and 16th at the Community Ballroom in Duncan, Iowa. The festivities started Saturday at
By Mary Diduch, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.) – HACKENSACK, N.J. — An iPhone case can cost as little as $5, with more expensive protectors going for as much as $80. But broken iPhones