CLEAR LAKE – Clear Lake police and Cerro Gordo County Sheriffs are investigating a possible murder or suicide today.
We are awaiting official word, but sources are telling NIT that a man is dead, aged 20 or 21, who works in Mason City. He was found at his apartment on South Shore Drive in the 1100 block.
Authorities were still on the scene today at 1 PM and are slowly clearing out. An ambulance is on the scene removing the deceased person from the house. A source also said a “long-barreled” gun was taken from the house at 1:30 PM.
As I said happyguy is full of crap
happyguy would also like that the news be censored…only report “feel good” news…he should live in Russia or China
happyguy is full of crap!…Matt didnt do any false reporting and I for one (and there are many others) appreciate his work on NIT!
read the original article…then see who is full of crap. Oh wait, it isn’t on here anymore. Wonder why?
Because I asked him to remove the parts that weren’t true.
Matt needs to learn how to tell the difference between right and wrong, between what is a news story and what isn’t, to wait for the facts to come out, and that repeating what “sources at the scene” say is gossip. No wonder he is no longer working at the Globe!!
IF you remove my comment again I will know your apology was not sincere. I think your reasoning for doing so Matt was unsubstantiated. A simple email to me would have confirmed my identity.
Also, Jim Fullerton was and is the funeral home of choice because of the EXTREME care he took of my son. He was on the scene because of special family circumstances was able to take care of so many details for my family and his. I owe him deep and sincere Thank you. But here is what I posted:
Why did you remove my post? I AM THE MOTHER! YOU NEED TO HEAR ME!
Authorities investigating death in Clear Lake.
No drugs were involved!
Gossip not informed sources as in responsible journalism.
Black smoke you saw this last weekend was my son.
Next time it could be yours!
Life does not go the way you plan!
I cant believe all the negative remarks toward Matt reporting a suicide….shamkore is right that the more that are reported the greater the awareness…Fullerton wont be my funeral home when my time comes(moron)
As a survivor of suicide I did not think it was very appropriate to report this. I read this site every day and enjoy Matts articles but this one was out of line. Suicide is a horrible thing and leaves the loved ones behind asking the question “why” all the time. I feel for this persons family and can only imagine what they are going through. I did not sleep for many months after I lost my loved ont to suicide. It is very tough to deal with and this family surely did not need the help of the media to bring all the attention to this personal matter. There will be a suicide walk on 10-6-12 starting from Southbridge mall. I would invite ANYONE to walk in this very powerful event. You do not have to have lost someone to suicide but merely come and learn from this.
I’d like to take a moment and thank the people who were kind enough to call, email, comment here and stop me in person and show their support for me and NIT in the wake of Mr. James Fullerton’s comments here.
It’s not always easy being under attack for reporting the news, and when slanderous, nasty, threatening comments by an obviously troubled person like Mr. Fullerton come along, that can be a diversion from reporting news.
I do appreciate the wealth of inside information that has been passed to me by the people I mentioned. I will be working through all of it in the days and weeks ahead.
There was a suicide in Hampton on Thursday. It happens.
You people that are offended it is your right to be offended but you do not speak for everyone. Many of you would be the first person to turn on the TV when some guy is on a ledge threatening to jump.
Matt you just can’t admitt being wrong. Nothing on KIMT or in the Globe. They have and show some respect for the survivors and some dignity for the victim. You should try doing that. I doubt you can. You will print anything to stir up the readers. You my freind are pathetic.
Happyguy you know everything. I pity your family members and co-workers. Uggghhhhh!
Bore…I don’t know everything and never claimed to, but I do know right from wrong. And Matt was wrong.
BOTH Kimt, Globe were there also, which means they BOTH were reporting a suicide. They cowered in the shadows waiting to see if Matt put it on NIT first, when they read all the comments on here they decided against it which leads to unprofessional reporting! I think they need to take pointers from NIT. Like someone else on here said’ IT IS NEWS get over it already.
Keep up the great informative reporting/photos NIT!!
Duh, Prove what you said here. I don’t doubt they were there. Most likely they did some research before going off half cocked and realised it wasn’t a news story. Just because you have people on the scene doesn’t mean it is a news story. Let the facts come out before you report…just like KIMT and the Globe did. That is what a proffesional news organization does. I am in no way saying that KIMT or the Globe are the best at what they do but on this non-news story they beat Matt.
happyguy stop reading nit go back to the globe, and stop bitching if you don’t like it then don;t read it, DUH
Okay well if someone in your family is in this situation that you are close to I hope that North Iowa today is all over that story and drags you and your family through the mud I bet you wouldn’t be so quick to say what you are. Stop being so hateful go get laid for god sakes. If you are to young then get off this newspaper article and go to bed. Either way people like YOU who have no filter will be the reason our country goes at war with ourselves someday because I swear all you hate mongrels will team up and destroy the us with your crap attitudes, nasty remarks and just plain shit personalities GROW UP someone should have whooped you into some manners growing up.
Matt shame on you this is utterly ridiculous! If this was your family would you be so quick to write this story. For god sakes this is something VERY personal and its not NEWS its NO ONES BUSINESS! I used to think you were a pretty good writer but now I can see that you are a low life, sleazy journalist just looking for ratings. I love journalism and I know sometimes there are tough stories to write but this is just beyond crazy of you. Show some respect seriously. I am glad we all see how cold and calculated you really are. That’s sociopath behavior and we all know your a narcissists anyways so really I guess we shouldn’t be surprised ENJOY MY SHOUTY CAPITALS!!!!
“A person told NIT today that he was told by authorities that it was……..”
In the years I have been reading newspapers, magazines, watching television news, and listening to radio news, the above comment, has been, and continues to be used on a regular basis.
No matter if it was Woodward & Bernstein, or Royko, or Kup, or the many other highly regarded writers and reporters, the fact is, the editor said, run with it, and they did.
Such is the nature of the news business.
Yes, in all those years, corrections had to be made, big and small. Some occupied page 20 in ten point type, others, below the masthead.
With that in mind, I really don’t find what Matt wrote to be inappropriate. News happen no matter if there is a reporter to act upon it or not. Suicides, and attempted suicides happen a lot more than is reported.
Hey, you all know Matt makes up his own rules as he goes along.
But Katie, you seem to be a fan of this site. You post on anything and everything on here. If you don’t like some of the content, there’s other news sources with a little more fluff.
I love a good argument. And I get bored easily. LOL
Katie go hang with your consevative friends then tell them your an athiest. I’m sure you will be shunned and treated like they do to the gay Republicans.
Oh wow. Katie seems honest and smart. Don’t try to bully her and shut her up because who wants to listen to you more? Lots of people that aren’t lefties don’t care about religion. Hate to wreck your narrative.
No doubt. I’m an independent thinker. Shocker here: One of my favorite presidential candidates of all time was Shirley Chisholm back in 1972. She was a black Democratic Congresswoman from New York. I even convinced my elderly ultra conservative parents that she had the best platform of all the candidates. I admired her a great deal. She was the first black woman to run for president.
Katie,
Shirley Chilsom was a democrat and she would be rolling over in her grave if she was alive today to see how dysfunctional and socialist the Democratic Party has become.
I am betting she would be yet another Democrat that switched to Independent or Republican!
I knew her.
Wow, Watchdog! You were very fortunate to have met such a forward-thinking woman. My thoughts back in 1972 were that she was more of a moderate than a Democrat. I’m glad someone else remembers her.
This DEFINETLY isn’t Kelly or Jody’s photo! oh well whoever sent this in, tried! HA
Dear James Fullerton:
Since we all now know that you (and LOTS of other business owners along with thousands of other residents) are reading NIT regularly, and since you have thrown down the gauntlet, let’s get down to business. I have started doing my homework on your business, just as you say you have done yours on mine.
Since you have all the answers, please provide these, we will all be eagerly waiting:
Does your business, Fullerton Funeral Home, use any type of “supplemental filtration system” in your cremation system? When was the last time your emissions were checked for dioxins, fine particulate matter and vaporized mercury?
Matt…enough…I am so sickened by this. Fullertons did by fathers service. And did a great job. And he was creamated. We did not receieve a complaint from the city for fumes during dads creamation. The Fullerton…James…and Patterson families have been taking care of the families in the Rockwell area a very long time. To insinute anyting else is very wrong…
John why would the City complain? They ignore their own zoning laws. This has been proven recently with Vi-COR. I’m sorry if Mr. Fullerton is your personal friend, but I did not invite him into my business to go on the offensive against me today, he took that upon himself to do so, and you can see the very nasty things he wrote about me. At this time he can answer my questions and we will move forward from there.
To John Rowe. We are not talking about the Rockwell location and in my will I have requested cremation. We are talking about the Mason City location.
good point about the emissions Matt. It is a steady stream of heavy smoke, sometimes very black while the cremation is being done. I used to work very close to Fullerton’s and the smell is very obvious to the neighbors of Fullerton’s. I really wonder what kind of harmful emissions are discharged during the cremation process.
Some of you people need to get a clue. Whether it be suicide, murders, rapes, missing children, drug deals IT IS NEWS. The problem is that most of you are not used to how or what NIT reports because kimt and the globe have been your ONLY news source for many years, and the globe only reported what THEY wanted the public to know, NIT reports news, facts, truth and other things you would NEVER know about otherwise. I advice you if you dont like it, stay off the site then but, I guarantee you you will be back.
This is complete bullshit. There were no drugs involved whatsoever. I knew this guy personally, I knew his family, and I know the landlord. IT WAS NOT DRUG RELATED.
Drug-related can also mean prescription. No one’s saying he died of a heroin overdose or something. I didn’t know him well, but he didn’t seem the type.
Then again, poor kid didn’t seem the type to do something like this either. Pretty sad. I’ve got a lot of grieving friends now.
Cremation services happen to be legal. You need to check your facts. There are several different places in Cerro Gordo county that allow this practice because they are licensed. I’m also pretty sure that the DNR would say that there is no problem. I will use the name anon, but I’m sure you will look up at see who this is by seeing what the ip address is. Sorry had to say something because I thought this site was supposed to be “anonymous”
Personally, I’ve lost a loved one who took thier own life, and it would have been easier for the news to have reported it verses our family having to notify everyone at first and re-live it. I never felt any stigma, I was devastated that I didn’t see signs. It is news, sad news, but news. We hear about the athletes or famous people taking thier own lives, why is it different to hear about our friends or neighbors the same way? Because it cuts too close to home? People all assume people die by thier own hands when it’s stated they died at home anyway. The hard part would be making sure the family close at hand hears it before it’s news though. I also agree, there are way too many suicides in our area, why is that? I’d really like the answer to that especially if they are preventable. There have been way way too many in 100 mile radius.
Matt I believe Alyssa is referring to this article.
http://northiowatoday.com/?p=16977
Nowhere in that article does it say anything about Ian’s death being drug related. Matt was reporting about the graffiti and the fact that it was spray painted very close to where Ian was murdered.
You really drug the knuckle dragers out from under the rocks on this one Matt. Keep on reporting the news and great job.
I can’t imagine being a family member or friend of the deceased and seeing this report that says it was a “drug related suicide.” I think you should get your facts straight before reporting gossip, which you seem to do quite often. I remember you posting something about Ian Decker’s murder being drug related too. You don’t have to reveal your sources which is good for you because then you can write FICTION instead of FACTS. Maybe you should go back to school and learn the difference! What is really sad is all of the people you hurt in the process of you trying to be the first person to get out a story. Shame on you and this trash you think is news.
NIT readers, be very careful about this comment from “Alyssa.” It is from the same IP address as the comment left by the blogger calling himself “James Fullerton.” I have placed a call to Mr. Fullerton’s office and left a message for a call back, in order to verify that he actually left these remarks. The IP address does match the IP address of emails Mr. Fullerton has sent me in the past, but of course, I want to hear Mr. Fullerton’s voice admit that he has left these remarks.
“Alyssa” AKA “James Fullerton,” you are a liar. We posted 3 stories about the Ian Decker murder case and NEVER ONCE were drugs mentioned.
This link will bring up everything ever published about Ian Decker on NIT: http://northiowatoday.com/?s=%22ian+decker%22&x=0&y=0
I expect an immediate apology from this blogger.
Alyssa is his daughter, fyi. Its not James pretending to be a woman 😉
Drug use and abuse is a big issue in not only Mason City but everywhere. Awareness. I’m sorry for this gentleman. But people need to be aware of how bad drugs are influencing the young people of our country. Hopefully with awareness, we can ehlp stop this from happening to the next person.
Wow, James! For as much animosity as you seem to have towards Mr. Marquardt, you sure spend alot of time on his site. All I see written in the article are facts. All I see written in your post are opinions…YOUR opinions. Furthermore, YOUR opinions suck…in MY opinion. Have a nice day.
Matt – The difference is Yes Kimt and Yes the Globe may be there, but they are getting all thier facts and stories inline before they post anything. It is 3:45 pm just got off Globegazette.com and Kimt.com and guess what not one single word. If this was a suicide they won’t post anything. North Iowa Today maybe a site that people want to read alternative news, but suicides have no place on the internet/paper. Oh yeah ESPN reported about JR Seau… Is this guy JR. Seau? I think not there is a huge difference when a celebrity kills himself maybe due to football then there is a bout someone local doing it. Drug deal gone bad? Where you get that info? It’s called slander unless you report facts.
Where does it say, “drug deal gone bad?” This article explains what was being said at the scene…it’s what you would’ve heard had you been there, too. It’s people like you who need to learn how to read and write better…see how you just twisted it?
It’s interesting, MATT that your undisclosed sources are probably the many voices in your head. Not only do you sensationalize objective facts, you don’t even do what GOOD reporters do….Research your information prior to publishing it. I hope all the people (or any of them) that you degrade and defame sue you for every dime you have. The dead can’t sue you, which you probably already know. Unfortunately you forgot about their living family members that you hurt making up the crap that you do. I can hardly wait until the truth comes out about this one and you not only have egg on your face that you can wipe off with the rag you print called North Iowa Today. This time I hope someone says “Enough of you” and the slander you profess. I won’t hide behind what I say, I am using my real name and my real e-mail. How quick will you take off what you don’t want to see, or are you willing to leave this one posted. You need a class in bullying.
Mr Fullerton, You expressed my thoughts exactly and better than I did. Thank you.
Hey James, how about I come by and do a story about the thick black smoke coming out of your chimneys? What is that black smoke FROM, Mr. Fullerton? I think your neighbors would appreciate that story. I’ll get back to you on that soon.
Doesn’t Fullerton’s have a cremation service, try checking there first. Think you’ll find your answer. Nice try though Matt.
I did call there, just a few minutes ago. We will see if he calls me back.
Are you saying that the thick black smoke coming from Fullerton’s smoke stacks are from cremating dead people? So when that black smoke residue settles on the streets, cars and homes of those nearby, and is breathed by the people of Mason City, that is actually dead people’s bodies? What would the Iowa DNR say about that?
Again Matt, you have failed to check your facts and done any research. If I was not in compliance with the city, county, state and the DNR, I would not be still operating my crematorium. However you have used another unnamed source and blown something out of proportion. If you had returned my call (more than one made to you) when you called me several months ago, you would have received contact names and numbers to do your research. I am certain that you do not take the time to do responsible reprting. Unlike many others I will say what I feel is right, stand by it with facts and figures and use my real name and not hide behind a shield of anonyumous names. A good editorial page actually uses and requires your name. For all I know you are behind some of those comments. And NO I am not Alyssa, but I do know her. She spoke the truth too. Nice you could check that out too. This just proves that you have used no restraint in reporting this and many previous news items that you sensationalized . Yes, Matt you do a good job on most articles… those that you copy and paste with no research on your own.
Well James you are entitled to your opinion on my writing and NIT in general. I am glad you are here giving me more page views and visits everyday, you have joined the tens of thousands doing so who want the real news, not slanted by Globe and Chamber cronies. Sound familiar? Look in the mirror if it doesn’t. NIT will be looking closely at the smoke from the dead people billowing out of your chimneys. I’m sure we all enjoy breathing that. You know very well that we did speak on the phone on this matter once before, there is no need to distort the truth and say we did not. By the way, could you clarify your remark about the bullying class? Are you the instructor? Was that a threat?
Furthermore, Mr. Fullerton, I am saddened and disappointed to see the ill will you have against me. We have been acquaintances for years and never once have you expressed these opinions to me, neither via email nor the phone, and we have spoken in the not-too-distant past. Now, you have opened yourself up to criticism here with these public statements of wishing for my demise and the demise of my business. That is a shame. James, I never wished anything but the best for you and your business, but I guess I will need to watch my back when it comes to you now. Enjoy your weekend.
I guess its OK for Mr. Fullerton to use NIT for his own personal gain. This is a press release that Mr Fullerton sent to our office that we graciously ran for him just this past February.
http://northiowatoday.com/?p=9807
You didn’t have to print it either. I didn’t pay you, I didn’t ask for a favor. I sent it out to all media. But thanks!
I was at the scene and an NIT employee, a photographer, was there. She was polite, respectful, and I do know that NIT has a lot of info that it has not put up on here or reported about. The Globe had people there and so a girl from KIMT even set up a tri-pod campera thing to take video. I think Mr. Markward has done a very professional job here.
Maybe people need to know how high the suicide rate really is so we can be informed and watch for the signs in others who may be contemplating it.
I would think if you don’t want to read what is on here you would quit looking. Suicide is news too and worth reporting in some cases. Everyone always finds out anyway and at least this way the truth is known.
Way to go again Matt. A murder would be reportable but a suicide!! What’s your excuse this time. Was it in a public park or were there children playing in the area! Those were your excuses for the last one. Also if you don’t know if it was murder or suicide why not wait until you get some facts from the authorities?
Why don’t you ask KIMT and the Globe, they are there too. By the way, I omitted his name and where he works. Furthermore, if you don’t like it, get lost.
Geez Matt Play Nice.
Good point Matt! Those other two sources will have the name released in no time. 🙂
It is very unprofeessional to report on suicides. It doesn’t matter if I am on here or not you still reported it. If you have had any experiences with suicides you would know how hurtful it is to have the public know about it and the stigma that it has on the family. Again shame on you
Maybe Webster’s dictionary should delete the word “suicide,” would that make you happy? Let’s all pretend it doesn’t exist and never happens. Also, let’s call Hollywood and make sure a suicide is never shown in a movie. The list goes on. I watch the news, and suicides are reported all over. Turn on ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, FOX and later your local news the incidents are reported many times. Furthermore, as indicated, the incident at this time is a death, it could be murder, it could be a suicide, we are waiting for the official word. There are throngs of people outside the house where it happened, news cameras, you name it. Get a grip on the real world, chief.
If you are a public figure you somewhat give up your right to privacy. Those would be the suicides that the national news would report on. The average joe on the street…no way no how. Sorry Matt you are wrong and will obviously report anything to get your viewership up, much like the National Enquirer. You are one cold hearthless individual!! As far as the local news goes we will have to see. Haven’t heard about it from them yet and if they do they would be wrong to report on it too.