Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Tracy Wilkinson and Ricardo Lopez, Los Angeles Times – MEXICO CITY — Mexico and the United States are gearing for a costly showdown over fresh tomatoes — a $3.5 billion business for
By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers – ISLAMABAD — U.S. diplomats Friday warned a group of American peace activists not to attend a rally against U.S. missile strikes scheduled for this weekend, saying
By Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times – LONDON — A Muslim cleric who applauded the Sept. 11 attacks and called for nonbelievers to be put to death lost his final legal bid
MASON CITY – A Mason City woman was picked up on an arrest warrant on Wednesday. Amanda Kay Butner, 21, was arrested at the 400 block of North Washington Avenue by Mason
Political cartoons for readers to enjoy and discuss. Click each cartoon to view larger.
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — Employers added 114,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate tumbled sharply to 7.8 percent, the government said Friday in a closely watched
MASON CITY – McKiness Excavating, Inc. of Mason City is now working to demolish two buildings on 2nd Street SW. The buildings, which were owned by the City, are located at 217
By Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The cries of progressive rock fans the world over have been heard: Rush has been nominated to join the Rock and Roll Hall
MASON CITY – On September 20th, 38-year-old, John Paul Compher was cited by local law enforcement for driving while suspended. Compher promised to appear before a magistrate at 3 pm on October
By Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — “Taken 2” will hold its rivals hostage at the box office this weekend as the kidnapping thriller is expected to claim the No.
By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times – WASHINGTON — Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week as the economy showed continued signs of modest job growth. There were 367,000 new jobless
By John Boudreau, San Jose Mercury News – BADE, Taiwan — On a November afternoon two years ago, a taxi pulled up to the gate of Ta Liang Technology, one of countless nondescript
By Tish Wells, McClatchy Newspapers – Don’t be surprised if you see Imperial Stormtroopers, Jedi, Rebels or various configurations of R2-D2s on the streets of America on Saturday. They will be enjoying “Star
The Philadelphia Inquirer – ARBITRAGE 3 stars. Slick and suspenseful financial-world thriller, with Richard Gere as a hedge fund king whose world is collapsing under the weight of a huge accounting scam
PHOENIX—On October 2, 2012, Brice Little, 29, of Parker, Arizona, pleaded guilty to child abuse in federal district court in Phoenix. According to the plea agreement, Little, a member of the Colorado
By Judi Light Hopson, Emma H. Hopson and Ted Hagen, McClatchy-Tribune News Service – Are you still stinging from emotional pain somebody inflicted upon you a long time ago? Maybe a teacher slammed
By Armin Brott, McClatchy-Tribune News Service – Dear Mr. Dad. I’m the single father of a 6-year-old girl. How do I balance being a parent and a friend? I don’t want to lose
By Cindy Carcamo and Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times – SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. — In the field, Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was the officer who once carried a pregnant woman for a
By Colin Covert, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) – “Taken 2” stars Liam Neeson as Jason Bourne’s grandfather, more or less. Fitting into the odd new “Expendables” genre of AARP-age action heroes, he returns to
Marc Morehouse, CR Gazette – IOWA CITY — Christian Kirksey got pinned by a fullback and Minnesota beat the Hawkeyes last season. Gophers quarterback MarQueis Gray took a shotgun snap and ran
By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times – For decades after a woman has carried a male child in her womb or shared her mother’s womb with a brother, she carries a faint but
By John Rosemond – Q: When I attempt to put my 3½-year-old daughter in her room for punishment, she refuses to go. I have to pick her up and take her, during
FOREST CITY, IOWA, October 4, 2012 – Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE:WGO), one of the leading United States (U.S.) recreation vehicle manufacturers, today announced Niles Whitehouse has joined the Company as western area
By Don Lee, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — September looks like another mediocre month for job growth. Private-sector employers added 162,000 jobs last month, according to a survey released Wednesday by payroll
By Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – ATLANTA — Two teams that haven’t seen each other since May 30 confront each other anew on Friday. Cloaked in late afternoon shadows, the Cardinals and
McClatchy Newspapers – VOICES OF FAITH: IS DEMON POSSESSION A REAL THING? ——— MINDS CREATE IMBALANCE The Rev. Duke Tufty, pastor, Unity Temple on the Plaza: If we define “demon” as an
By David Ranii, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) – MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Lenovo is portraying its relatively modest plans to manufacture personal computers in North Carolina — creating 115 jobs and investing
By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES —Japanese researchers have demonstrated in mice that eggs and sperm can be grown from stem cells and combined to produce healthy offspring, a finding
By Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — A convicted killer described as a top follower of mass murderer Charles Manson was granted parole Thursday. Bruce Davis, 69, imprisoned for the
KANSAS CITY, KS—An Olathe man has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison in a child pornography case, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. Marc Dolgenow, 46, Olathe, Kansas, pleaded guilty to
WASHINGTON—A member of the North Carolina Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) pleaded guilty to racketeering-related charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division
Stephen L. Morris, Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announces the arrest of 19-year-old Patrick Joseph Hudson. Agents and officers of the FBI
NORFOLK, VA—Deborah Clark, 52, a former state magistrate in Portsmouth, Virginia, was sentenced today in Norfolk federal court to 12 months in prison for accepting bribes from a bondsman in exchange for
By Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune – National League wild-card playoff ——— Starters: Kris Medlen is the modern Greg Maddux, a modestly built right-hander with uncanny command. He’s on a roll. Kyle Lohse has
By Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune – American League wild-card playoff: Rangers vs. Orioles ——— Starters: Yu Darvish was imported from Japan to win big games, and this is the biggest they’ve played since
By Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES—The NHL season canceled its regular-season schedule through Oct. 24, carefully wording its announcement to say it wasn’t canceling games—in order to leave open the
A Fairview Heights man, Andrew Gerald Millas, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court in East St. Louis on October 2, 2012, to three counts of production of child pornography and one count
By Jeff Wilson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram – ARLINGTON, Texas — The one thing the Texas Rangers probably needed most Thursday — a day off — was granted to them by manager Ron Washington.
By Jim Wyss, The Miami Herald – CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez danced in the rain and led his followers in song Thursday, as the former military officer and cancer survivor
By Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — In the skies over Europe, Asia and the Middle East, airline passengers can chat and text on cellphones without getting an angry look