Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
IOWA CITY – Iowa held Purdue to just 48 points -its lowest point total against the Hawkeyes since 1983- in beating the Boilers 58-48 Wednesday night. Iowa improves to 14-2 at home
DENVER, Feb. 27 (UPI) — A 6-year-old who was born a boy but identifies as a girl should be able to use the girls’ restroom at school, a transgender rights group said
DES MOINES – The Mason City Mohawk girls basketball team advanced at the state tournament Wednesday night with a 72-53 win over Iowa City West. The Mohawks set a state record for
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) — The U.S. Senate Wednesday voted handily to confirm Jacob Lew as treasury secretary despite reservations by some Republicans. The vote was 71-26, Washington publication Roll Call reported.
DES MOINES – Senior leadership abounds at Aplington-Parkersburg. Tenth-ranked Aplington-Parkersburg, which has an all-senior roster, rallied from an early eight-point deficit to beat No. 7 Panorama 48-38 in the Class 2A quarterfinals.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) — The White House says major government agencies must make taxpayer-funded research freely available to the public within 12 months after publication. The directive that went into affect
DES MOINES – Estherville-Lincoln Central’s seniors are still in the running for a chance to play in another state championship game. Twins Casey and Allie Sievert combined for 31 points as the third-ranked Midgettes completed a
DES MOINES – Waverly-Shell Rock looked nothing like a state tournament rookie in beating Winterset. The second-ranked Go-Hawks, in the five-player tourney for the first time, shot their way into an early
MASON CITY – The Mason City Police Department is alerting people to a possible scam. Victims are receiving a phone call from a suspect stating the victim just won a lottery drawing
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) — Lance Armstrong plans to argue that the civil fraud suit filed against him is too old to go forward, a person close to his defense team has
IRVING, Texas, Feb. 26 (UPI) — Game officials blew two key calls in a Monday contest between fifth-ranked Kansas and Iowa State, the Big 12 Conference has admitted. Cyclones fans were incensed
ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 26 (UPI) — Zach Parise’s goal during a 4-on-3 power play 27 seconds into overtime Tuesday handed the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over Calgary. The Wild went
PHOENIX, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris and Wesley Johnson all scored 14 points Tuesday to lead Phoenix to an 84-83 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gortat laid in
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 27 (UPI) — Quarterback Alex Smith will be traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs, several media outlets, citing NFL sources, reported Wednesday. Reports
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 26 (UPI) — U.S. retail giant Best Buy said Tuesday it had laid off 400 workers from its corporate headquarters in a cost-saving plan it calls “Renew Blue.” Best Buy
TRENTON, N.J., Feb. 27 (UPI) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has signed a law legalizing online gambling in the state that applies only to persons physically in New Jersey. The law
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) — The U.S. Pending Home Sales Index rose in January, returning to an upward trend that took a month off in December, a trade group in Washington said
NEW YORK, Feb. 27 (UPI) — U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday as investors considered Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s defense of the central bank’s monetary policies. In testimony on Capitol Hill Tuesday,
NEW YORK, Feb. 27 (UPI) — JPMorgan Chase & Co., the United States’ largest bank, says it will slash up to 19,000 jobs over the next two years. The New York bank
WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Facebook, Apple and Microsoft joined hundreds of other companies Wednesday to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. The 278 employers
AMES, Iowa – Feb. 27, 2013; 11 a.m. update – Warmer pavement temperatures and diminishing snowfall has helped most interstate routes return to normal winter driving conditions, which consists of wet roads
WASHINGTON—Following the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting, the Council of Governors (CoG) finalized a consultative process with the Department of Defense (DoD) to maintain an ongoing dialogue that will ensure governors’
by Jody Spear and Kelly Meyer – MASON CITY – The North Iowa Model Railroad Club (NIMRRC) has had their model railroad at Southbridge Mall since October of 2011. The mall allows
MASON CITY – The Mason City Conference Board met Tuesday and voted to fund a $1 million dollar project conducted by the Mason City Assessor to appraise all residential and commercial property
AMES, Iowa – Feb. 27, 2013 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is reporting that westbound Interstate 80 in Jasper County, near Kellogg (milepost 178), is currently completely blocked due to a
VATICAN CITY, Feb. 27 (UPI) — A crowd of 150,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square Wednesday for Pope Benedict XVI’s final general audience, the Vatican said. It was one of the
MASON CITY – A former Mason City man who had faced up to 15 years in prison for two felony drug counts walked out of his sentencing hearing with a deferred judgment
SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 27 (UPI) — Officials said 20 beached killer whales died in Southern Chile, while local fisherman, scientists and authorities were able to put 26 others back into the sea.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Broward, Fla., County commissioner said she withdrew her proposal to ban pit bulls after hundreds of supporters of the breed protested her effort. Pit
Former Scarville city clerk Jolene June Carter, who issued over $8,000 in checks to herself while participating in the theft of city funds totaling over $37,000 with former Scarville Mayor Michelle Hermanson
AMES, Iowa – Feb. 27, 2013; 5 a.m. update – The winter storm will continue to impact roadways in portions of central and southeast Iowa through this morning. The Iowa Department of
AMES, Iowa – The Pell Grant makes it possible for countless students to achieve their goal of earning a college degree. However, changes to the eligibility requirements for the Pell Grant may
DAVENPORT, IA – On February 25, 2013, Fred Carl Chapman, age 30, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge
MAKHACHKALA, Russia, Feb. 26 (UPI) — A Russian wrestler said he has returned his Olympic gold medal to protest a proposal to cut wrestling from the 2020 Games. Sagid Murtazaliev, who won
NEW ORLEANS — A convicted felon Honduran national was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to a felony charge of illegally re-entering the United States following
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 26 (UPI) — Trevor Mbakwe fired in 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Tuesday, helping Minnesota knock off top-ranked Indiana 77-73. Andre Hollins scored 12 of his 16 points the
CHICAGO, Feb. 26 (UPI) — Dion Waiters pumped in 25 points Tuesday and the Cleveland Cavaliers shook off the absence of Kyrie Irving to hang a 101-98 loss on Chicago. Irving was
CEDAR RAPIDS – Amos Dee Deering, Sr., age 31, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine,
A sex offender who failed to update his registration was sentenced February 12, 2013, to 41 months in federal prison. Howard Sawyer, age 39, from Black Hawk County, received the sentence after
TAMPA, Fla. – A St. Petersburg man was sentenced Friday to 14 years in federal prison for using his computer to solicit and arrange for sex with a 4-year-old child. The sentencing