MASON CITY – A Mason City woman accused of setting fire to an occupied house causing evacuation is set to be arraigned for felony arson.
On October 23, 2024, at 2:34 PM, the Mason City Fire Department responded to a report of the back of a house on fire at 414 1st Street SE. Fire crews arrived finding light smoke from a blaze that was almost extinguished by a neighbor with a garden hose. The fire was located on and next to the doorsteps at the rear of the structure. The fire did not extend into the building, authorities said.
All occupants were evacuated safely, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation until January 27, 2025, when Mason City police claimed they solved the crime. They brought a charge of felony first-degree arson against 46-year-old Shelby Ann Kloberdanz of Mason City. Allegedly, following some kind of altercation, she was spotted running from the scene of the incident.
A judge issued an arrest warrant the next day, and Cerro Gordo county deputies served it upon Kloberdanz on January 30. She was then booked into the Cerro Gordo county jail at 1:55 AM that morning. She remains held on $25,000 cash-only bond. She awaits an arraignment hearing set for the morning of February 24. She has been appointed a public defender.
If convicted, Kloberdanz (pictured at top) could spend up to 25 years in a state prison.