Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
DES MOINES – More Iowa schools and districts missed Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) state targets for test participation and proficiency in reading and mathematics in the 2011-12 school year, according to the
CLEAR LAKE – A Clear Lake man is in the Cerro Gordo County Jail after charges of child endangerment were brought by the Clear Lake Police Department. Shadrick Dennery Vogt, age 29,
NORTH IOWA – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, September 29, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This
SACRAMENTO, CA—Jamir Imari Tatum, 20, of Oakland, pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. This case is the product of an investigation by the
BOSTON—A New York woman was convicted today in federal court of sending four threatening communications in the mail. Roberta Cicora, 57, St. Johnsville, New York, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge
MASON CITY – A man listed with a Clear Lake address was arrested for a domestic assault in Mason City this week. Brandon Clark Manning, 31, was arrested by Mason City Police
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley is pressing FBI Director Robert Mueller for information about taxpayer dollars possibly being spent on prostitutes for an FBI agent and several cooperating witnesses in the Philippines.
AMES – The Christie Vilsack campaign said Thursday that according to two polls, it has “has closed the gap with Steve King.” “It’s a two-point race at 44-46 with less than six
WACO, TX—Richard Khamir Hurd, 25, of Waco, pleaded guilty today to federal charges in connection with an attempt to extort money from Robert Griffin, III, the current quarterback for the NFL’s Washington
By Nicole Sperling, Los Angeles Times – The new film “Won’t Back Down” tells the story of a crusading single mother and a dedicated teacher who take on a bad principal, an
By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Back running on his surgically repaired knee for the third week now, injured Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio stopped long enough Thursday at
By Tyler Dunne, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – GREEN BAY, Wis. — Don’t be fooled by the booming ovation or pregame pleasantries at Lambeau Field this Sunday. This honeymoon won’t last long. Soon,
By Jeff Zrebiec, The Baltimore Sun – BALTIMORE — For much of the first three weeks, opposing quarterbacks had found Ravens cornerback Cary Williams. They watched where he lined up and often
By Aaron Wilson, The Baltimore Sun – BALTIMORE — Instead of receiving the usual jeers that go with their profession, NFL referee Gene Steratore and his crew were treated like conquering heroes
By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — If this was Jake Peavy’s final start at U.S. Cellular Field as a member of the White Sox, his teammates didn’t present him with
By Dan O’Neill, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – MEDINAH, Ill. — Now for the good part. The preliminary festivities concluded on Thursday at Medinah Country Club. There were bagpipes and blues, formal wear
From Senator Amanda Ragan – What gives Iowa a great quality of life? Good schools, great jobs, access to health care, fun things to do, interesting places to go or safe neighborhoods?
By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO—First lady Michelle Obama came to Chicago Thursday to tape a television show and make two fundraising appearances for her husband Barack. After arriving in Chicago
By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times – Herbert Lom, the actor who played Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movies and was memorably reduced to eye-twitching madness dealing with Peter Sellers’
PROVIDENCE, RI—William L’Europa, 47, of Cranston, co-operator of McCauley and L’Europa Public Adjusters LLC and PIA Restoration LLC, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Providence to federal charges of conspiracy
By Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune – DENVER — Baseball is a numbers game, and for the 2012 Cubs, the outrageous numbers just kept piling up after a 7-5 loss to the Rockies
By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times – MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities working closely with their U.S. counterparts scored big in the fight against drug cartels with the capture of a top
By David Heinzmann, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — The mass arrests of Occupy Chicago demonstrators that city leaders praised as a model for respecting protesters’ rights were ruled unconstitutional Thursday by a
By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – MINNEAPOLIS — Three months ago, Timberwolves forward Kevin Love publicly challenged his organization to make the kind of personnel moves that will convince him, Ricky
By E. Scott Reckard, Andrew Tangel and Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — A shadowy but well-organized hacker group in the Middle East has disrupted the electronic banking operations of
By Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES—As expected, the NHL on Thursday canceled the remainder of its scheduled exhibition games, putting an on-time start to the season in serious jeopardy.
By Henry Pierson Curtis, Orlando Sentinel – ORLANDO, Fla. — In a session called “Protecting the Right to Protect,” George Zimmerman’s lawyer will speak this weekend at a convention of gun-rights activists.
By Mark K. Matthews, Orlando Sentinel – WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama ended a months-long fight over NASA relics this week when he signed into law a bill that confers full ownership of early
By Franco Ordonez, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The Republican National Committee on Thursday fired a firm it had hired to register voters in several battleground states after allegations of voter registration
MASON CITY – The North Iowa Area Community College Art Gallery is currently exhibiting the two person show of Kentucky graphic artists Jeff Jensen and Matthew Tullis. The artwork ranges in media
By Kevin Ding, The Orange County Register – Like Dwight Howard, James Worthy was a chosen one — the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Eight years into Howard’s career,
By Victoria Kim and Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES—The filmmaker behind the anti-Islamic video that has sparked violence across the globe was arrested Thursday on suspicion of violating the
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad announced today that the Central Decatur Community School District and the Saydel Community School District won a grant in partnership with the National Institute for
New Report: Iowa Families Buying Health Insurance Would Pay Much More under Romney than under ObamaCare Families Buying Health Coverage on Their Own Would Pay an Average of $11,163 under Romney’s Proposals
By Rick Montgomery, The Kansas City Star – KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Car rental giant Enterprise Holdings has joined the rest of its industry in backing federal legislation to prohibit companies from
By Pete Carey, San Jose Mercury News – Furnace dead? Plumbing sprung a leak somewhere? Many homeowners know the dread of a repair they can’t fix, with nowhere to turn. But help
By Jonathan S. Landay and Hannah Allam, McClatchy Newspapers – UNITED NATIONS — Armed with a cartoonlike picture of a smoldering bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday called on the world
By Seema Mehta, Maeve Reston and Michael A. Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau – SPRINGFIELD, Va. — President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory in Virginia ended the GOP’s nearly half-century reign over the commonwealth.
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JPMCB) agreed to pay a $600,000 civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges that