MASON CITY – Tensions are running high once again near North Monroe Avenue in Mason City, with residents there fearing the possibility of fatal violence.
At least twice Wednesday, Mason City police were called to the area of the 300 block of North Monroe Avenue, east to Jefferson Avenue. The first call was around 2 PM. A caller to the NIT newsroom said “it’s about to go down. They are all back, facing off in the street.” The caller went on to describe a dozen or more people screaming and arguing in the street, about a block and a half east of Monroe Avenue (between Madison and Jefferson Avenues) at the 300 block of Third Street NW. Police quickly arrived and dispersed the people involved.
This area near Monroe Avenue has already been subjected to discord in recent weeks, and the trouble in the general area has been escalating at least since 2014. In August of that summer, the notorious “Melee on Monroe” went down, where dozens of people faced off, yelling and fighting, and a number of arrests were made. Just a few weeks ago, on the night of May 29 / morning of May 30, racial epithets and threats were traded between angry residents in this same area, leading to a possible drive-by shooting that police never fully confirmed happened.
Tensions have been mounting, and police were called back to Third Street NW again Wednesday, this time around 9 PM. Officers quickly arrived on the scene, where people were outside on their porches and sidewalks between Madison and Jefferson Avenues.
Neighbors called NIT again, saying “this place is going to explode. It’s getting vicious. Police are coming.”
At the scene, residents and neighbors there told NIT that the arguing, yelling and screaming escalated and some youngsters were “beaten up” earlier. NIT was told that the trouble was starting from a rental house at 318 3rd Street NW, owned by Russ Hardy.
Neighbors say three people live there, but people from all over the neighborhood go there to “hang out”. There was up to ten people on the porch outside that house Wednesday evening. They were observed running around, yelling, crossing the street, talking in loud voices, laughing and confronting others on the other side of the road. Police were there, talking to people, taking notes, and trying to calm people down. Rap music could be heard at various houses within a block or two radius, some of it Reggae. One car pulled up to the corner of Third Street and Madison Avenue, shut its lights, and stopped for over 30 seconds. Rap music could be heard coming from the vehicle – a beat-up compact car, with at least two or perhaps three occupants. A battered brown pickup truck drove down the street 2-3 times. It had a large, black flag flying out of the back with a white skull and crossbones.
An older black man walked up to the area where police were working and began yelling at a white woman. He appears to live at least two blocks away. The woman yelled back as she walked away from him, and police converged. They sat him down and began to question him. Later, he was in what appeared to be his home a couple blocks away. A younger black man walk up, on the sidewalk, and the older man said in a loud voice “I been looking for you, mother-****er. Where you been?”
Back at the scene with police, two female teens who were questioned by officers walked away from the scene; both were crying. A male relative told NIT that “we will all be charged with riot if we don’t leave right now. It’s not fair, our little cousins were beaten up.”
At least four police vehicles were on the scene, eventually.
Residents told NIT that there is talk of an impending drive-by shooting, targeting people in the 300 block of North Monroe.
“We’re scared,” one man told NIT. “This is getting worse, there’s more and more of them coming from Chicago or wherever. We don’t know what to do. They don’t belong here. This used to be a quiet neighborhood, now look at it.
“They keep calling us racists,” the man continued. “Hell, I’m no racist. My best friend is black.”
—-
Remember, to prevent crime:
time to the klan going,
Chew on this…I’m not WHITE. If the story would have read a white guy and a white woman arguing and country music could be heard blaring from several houses and jacked up 4X4’s runnin’ up and down the road with a big ole Confederate Flag on one of them, you wouldn’t have had ONE GD WHITE person on this thread crying RACISM. Wonder why that is…
Shut the fak up on the racist BS……
Seriously, high five.
Lol this reporter is a tard watch out he’ll park a block away and take pictures of you like a little pussy.
Hahaha, very racist journalism right here, hahaha. What does rap music have to do with any of this? But I guess it is no different than the eighties and nineties blaming rock music. BTW, I’m 36 with a college degree, comfy laid back office job clearing 70 a year, and I listen to hardcore, underground, southern rap. The music has nothing you do with how people act. Sounds like Mason City I’d getting a taste of these noon disciplined children that the government have been raising. These kids don’t have respect, receive what they deem to be entitlements and think life should be fair.
Think again ! Texas governor just filed a lawsuit against the U S GOVERNMENT – Homeland security is bringing in thousands of Syrians by ship and unloading them in Texas Ports . So much for VETTING!
The only winners are Russ Hardy and other slumlords. Its all on line a public record……. just saying.
most bad guys ride pedel bikes
The city has a nuisance ordinance to deal with repeat offenders and neighborhood crime. For God’s sake, lets use and enforce it. This is a cancer that will continue to spread and grow.
Dont let this “innocent” family fool you. If their mouth stopped writing checks that their ass cant cash, they wouldnt be harassing them. Not too innocent when quite a few “innocent victims” are the ones just recently being arrested for assault. Im tired of hearing fighting over who said shit “to my brothers, cousins nephew ” blah blah blah
Go back in your house, sends your mouthy friends home and let these Chicago F-tards go on with their day selling their drugs and living rent and job free. Every single person involved in this constant war between neighbors has contribted to it. Grow the F up. You are all already perfect copycats of your parents.
Lol i listen to 2pac and biggie all the time. And I’m white does that make me ghetto?
Yes. You’re ghetto
fine and upstanding my ass! tired of these low life thugs running our abiding citizens!
Sick and Tired of the “Racism Card”….We better wake up to the fact of what’s going on in this city before it totally gets out of control!! White or Black…doesn’t matter to me…it’s the people with attitudes/values of “Who Cares!!”…We continue “catering” to those that could care less/attitude of society owes them something!!!
No racisism in this article, just telling a truthful story and trying to paint a picture of what that neighborhood is dealing with!!! You know, so people will pull their heads out of the behinds and see what is really going on!!!! Being a THUG, which is what they are doing, has nothing to do with race. Those of you crying RACISISM, I hope SECTION 8 comes to your neighborhood real soon! Or better yet, go stay a few nights in a Section 8 neighborhood. You’ll get it then…..
This article is ridiculously racist…
EVERYTHING about this ARTICLE IS RACIST
https://youtu.be/vYAxkRAQ_CQ
This is why after living here all of my life, when we retire we are moving. It is not worth it to be afraid. By the time we call it quits, the North End and the South End will meet and it will be a ghetto. Not a good look for retirement living….
You have no idea what a ghetto even us! Black people playing rap music doesn’t make a ghetto. Black people standing up to racism dies not make a ghetto. Better move to a farm when you retire.
Spot on Judy, spot on.
I am positive that the police were there to present these fine upstanding people with citizen of the year awards.
They are just misunderstood and are just really voicing their concerns in a most civil and courteous manner.
They truly are the crème de la crème of what humanity has to offer.
Ya, that’s it.
I am afraid I do. I went to Cabrini Green back in the day and have had conversations with some of our new citizens from Chicago, Detroit, ST. Louis and other areas. I have talked to people from the actual hoods/ghetto. They tell me that they come here because it is supply and demand and they can make a great living dealing dope here. I don’t care what color, but it just so happens that we have a major influx of criminals coming in…. Just read the police reports and the jail occupancy reports. Everything from possession to dealing of crack, meth, weed, heroin, severe domestic violence, child abuse, burglary, robbery, public intox, drunk driving, a minority of the people have jobs– both the women and the men. It is true that the black men exploit vulnerable white women and then they have children they cannot support and when they are sent to prison, they are left behind on welfare because the drug money is gone. I wish this were not true. But it is and everyone here knows it. People need to get their heads out of their butts and say no more….. If you are here for a better life, a job, education for your children — then great. But don’t come here and continue to tie up our police dept, court system, social services and low/no income housing……
Well said. I agree completely.
They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t come for the reduced/free rent HUD housing, facilitated by Cathy Burtness at the Mason City Housing Authority. This agency exists allegedly to help people find housing, but really just helps slumlords, moving in anyone and everyone from anywhere, for slumlords who often don’t live within miles of here! This agency needs to be eviscerated and the director fired, but don’t look for the current mayor or council to do it.
“My best friend is black” or “I have family members that are black” are one of the top used quotes that racist people use to make their racists remarks okay. This entire article is infused with racism. What does “rap music coming from various houses” have to do with anything? Absolutely ignorant and irrelevant if you ask me.
Why is it ignorant to report on what was observed at the scene? It is true, several houses had music blaring from them. So did many of the cars that drove by. The story paints a picture. The truth is not racist; it is racist to play the race card just to try to make your point, however.
The first thing people try to do when confronted with facts is to cry racism. From what I read this article is based on first hand facts or by eye witness’s living in the neighborhood. I say take away all the welfare and HUD and make everyone work for a living and lets just see how much trouble there is. I don’t think good upstanding hard working people have the time to cause this kind of crap in a neighborhood.
The truth is that this article is racist…why point out that it was a black male and white female arguing. What did their skin colors have to do with that, except to paint the picture of a black man yelling at a white woman. Furthermore the fact that it was written that racial epithets were traded implies that some residents in the area are in fact racist. Im sorry matt, the only picture that you painted for me is that this article is racist. Im all for freedom of speech and press but this article shouldve been worded a bit more properly. Im obviously not the only one who picked up on the racism.
I dont think the story is racist just because it describes the reality of the situation. I suppose some people think the reality should be obfuscated in order to pretend its not about race. But in reality, this is a story about race. Professional journalists would be selling their readers short if they were to pretend otherwise.
I hope journalists never loose the courage to speak the truth, even when certain members of the public would prefer to live in a land of make believe.
You’re racist for calling the story racist. Or you’re a welfare freeloader looking for excuses for why your life turned out like it did. Or you are an elite troll looking to incite me, even as I laugh at your idiotic statement. Stay tuned for lots more stories even more descriptive than this one!
It is called journalism! You need all the facts to get the real story ! Otherwise the article would just say… Lots of people fighting around 300 block of N.Monroe. Police called. Loud music is heard.. Now that isn’t much of a story is it ? Most people want the details. It is not racist to report the basic facts… whatever color, gender or sexual orientation etc..
Mason City sure is thriving from all this cultural enrichment. Sadly it’s going to take a death before anything is actually done.
HUD (in DC, not local offices) is very interested in areas where there Section 8 housing is causing problems. The Washington Office empowers local housing authorities to remove anyone from the program who is not abiding by community standards. People in Section 8 are not allowed to house others who are not on the contract. If local authorities are not enforcing this aspect of the policy they need to be reported and removed.
Local authorities are doing nothing about this, and won’t.
Then call HUD in DC and explain the situation. You may be surprised at how interested and helpful they want to be. Chicago razed their big public housing projects which destroyed much of the Section 8 housing in the city. Landlords have been reluctant to take up the slack, which has left Chicagoans with something like an 18 year waiting list for Section 8 housing. So when someone comes into the housing offices in Chicago, they are shown a map of Iowa City, Mason City, Davenport, etc and asked if they would like to move. Once at their new location its common to have friends or family move in from Chicago, at least for brief durations. Call HUD in DC. They’ll help you make sure the program is being run the way it is intended to be run.
No, they won’t. This Washington Post article exposes what HUD’s real agenda is now. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/08/17/a-family-in-public-housing-makes-nearly-498000-a-year-and-hud-wants-tenants-like-this-to-stay/
Damn, they must all be haters. Why would anyone want to live in a peaceful neighborhood, without the fear of assault or death.
I thought saying no to the pork plant was not going to bring this element to good ole River City?
Different element.
crazy
Racist much. They don’t belong here. Wtf is wrong with ppl. The same mentally about Muslims. Maybe if u actually got to know ur neighbors nd try nd sit down lije grown up this kinda of stuff won’t happen. But no nobody does that,we just judge from afare what we don’t know . take some time to know ur neighbors, u might find u have been threw the same or even have something’s in common
Anybody in that general area want to host this person for a week so they know what you deal with?
You would change your mind if you lived in the neighborhood. Easy to spout off when you are not there.
Thank goodness that neighborhood is nothing but losers, dirtballs and welfare leeches. Bulldoze the area, about 11am, when the good folks are all at work, and the bums are still sleeping off their hangovers.
Can’t believe you can be this stupid to say this. This is not normal neighborhood behaviour. Everyone has a right to not live in fear in their neiborhood, no matter the race of your neighbor. It is especially frustrating when they don’t have a job and the hardest work they do all day is walk down to the convenience store to pick up their booze and chips so they can go back to their porch and sit. Then continue to harass anyone and everyone around them.
It’s a sign of the times……..Protect yourself, let them hurt and kill each other…….
So tired of these people coming here. The slum lords need to stop renting to them. If they have no where to live, maybe they will move on.
They wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the Mason City Housing Authority and HUD. Our tax dollars at work, for the slumlords.
It’s complete bull blaming people on HUD for these issues. I’m on HUD and prior was on low income housing that was ran and owned by the government. Neither have or had any complaints about my family and I. Not everyone on HUD are bad people. How about getting to know people before making a judgment.
If you were worth a shit, you could provide for yourself and your family without government assistance.
Some of us that are on the HUD program such as myself. I’ve tried to better myself. I’ve tried to go back to school get a college education. Unfortunately I was able to pass the math part of the test. I’m currently on disability unable to work due to some health problems I currently have. If it wasn’t for the HUD program I don’t know where my daughter and I would be today. So don’t be so quick to judge someone who’s on the program, it’s there for people who really need it. My daughter and I we stick to ourselves and don’t cause no drama for anyone, so why should we suffer for the actions of someone else
I didn’t say all HUD clients are bad. The fact is, however, that big-city troublemakers are coming here for HUD housing, owned by slumlords, many of whom don’t live within miles of here.
Bystanders, I would like to correct your statement. You said it is “owned” by the Federal Government. The Federal Government doesn’t “own” anything, they confiscate our money and then dole it out as they feel fit and that is what is wrong with our country and people like you that think the Government will take care of you.
Stupid