Home prices decline for a third straight month
By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that
Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
Home » Watercooler » Page 421
By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that
By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Promoters of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival raised eyebrows in the concert business last fall when they decided to clone the
By Mike Petersen of Mason City – February-Valentines, it’s the month of romance. I have a challenge for you guys, how about starting now we treat all the ladies with total respect
by Matt Marquardt – MASON CITY – The Cerro Gordo County Supervisors met Tuesday morning and picked up on a safety issue. They moved ahead with a recommendation to close the southwest
By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Norovirus took the top spot for infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals from 2008 to 2009 and was responsible for most department closures as
MASON CITY – The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum’s 2012 Winter Film Series, Films in February, Movies in March, kicks off this Saturday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m. through March 10. Admission
by Jody Spear – MASON CITY – What started out as a routine vehicle offense stop early Tuesday morning resulted in a high speed car chase south of Clear Lake. At approximately 1:35 a.m., near
IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Former University of Iowa men’s basketball player, and Iowa’s all-time leading scorer, Roy Marble has worked in conjunction with Brian Meeks on a book entitled Two Decades
When I retrieved my paper from the mailbox this morning and opened it I thought I was having a nightmare. I could not believe my eyes when I read the proposed projected
By Eileen Ambrose, The Baltimore Sun – Marlene Partridge and her husband have a six-figure retirement income, no debt and pay off their credit cards each month. Yet when the 62-year-old former teacher
Los Angeles Times – From the Los Angeles Times’ Ministry of Gossip blog: ——— NICKI MINAJ TO PERFORM WITH MADONNA IN SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW Slowly but surely, the plans for Madonna’s
By Ronald D. White, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Gasoline prices, already at record levels for January, rose again over the last week, the Energy Department said. But that wasn’t necessarily
By Virginia Rohan, The Record (Hackensack N.J.) – Have you gone to “The Bark Side” yet? The first in Volkswagen’s ‘The Bark Side’ series of ads was released Jan. 18, as a teaser
By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, veterans of Fox’s sketch comedy “MADtv,” have a new series of their own, the self-titled “Key & Peele.”
By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Segregation of African-Americans in the United States has declined to its lowest point in more than a century, but social and income disparities
By Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press – Should the IRS be picking up the phone and demanding more money? Or at least making a call to discuss options if you’re delinquent? It’s an
By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The Federal Aviation Administration has pushed back the date when it will propose new rules for the use of small drones in national
Effective at 4:00 p.m. today, January 30, 2012, the Alternate Side Parking ordinance and Emergency Snow Route are suspended until further notice. Citizens should stay tuned to local media outlets to receive
By Jody Spear MASON CITY – Going by Ray Rorick Park, Sunday, we decided to do an update on Joe Buttweiler’s story from last Sunday, January 22. Joe mentioned in that story
CLEAR LAKE – The Big Bopper Junior is looking forward to an extended weekend of music and his hosting duties at the North Iowa landmark he refers to as the “temple of
By Ellen Warren, Chicago Tribune – Who doesn’t know that junk food is bad for you? It’s empty calories, puts on the pounds and is awfully, terribly, almost impossibly hard to resist. It
Rod Boshart, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa – DES MOINES — Proponents seeking to rein in the unregulated “wild, wild West” environment of illegal online poker in Iowa are girding for another legislative
By Joe Flint, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — With an estimated $20 million opening weekend under his belt, Liam Neeson has secured his status as the thinking man’s action star. “The
By Ben Fritz and Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times – AUSTIN, Texas — It may be the largest entertainment production in history. More than 800 people on four continents have spent six years
MASON CITY – China Buffet is keeping local health inspectors busy. Since May of 2011, the Cerro Gordo County Health Department has responded to at least three complaints at the restaurant, located at
The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa – Second-guessing gadflies, prying media and an old-fashioned Midwestern desire to be efficient and civil can tempt government officials to undermine open meetings and open records laws.
By Randy Lewis, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Pioneering R&B singer Etta James was saluted at her funeral service Saturday by fellow musicians, including Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera, and eulogized
By Kacie Krominga – The fifth annual Parks & Rec. Kids’ Karnival was held Saturday afternoon at Southbridge Mall. Businesses and organizations gathered to give children and their families activities to do
by Jody Spear – MASON CITY – Saturday afternoon was a sunny, temperature friendly day for the “Cardboard Classic” sledding competition at the East Park Sledding Hill in Mason City. The Relay
RURAL CERRO GORDO COUNTY – Shortly after 11:30 Friday night, January 27, 2012, a member of the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department attempted to make a traffic contact north of Rock Falls
By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — The long-sought marriage of Hollywood’s two actors unions cleared another hurdle Saturday when the board of American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
By Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times – SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter has promoted itself as a beacon of free speech, and that image was burnished when revolutionaries used the social media service to
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — In recent months the name Mary Tyler Moore has been bandied about with unexpected regularity bordering on reckless abandon. This is not just
American Kennel Club – Whether around the block or across the country, moving can cause stress for the entire family and the American Kennel Club wants to remind pet owners that dogs
A public lecture on Wednesday, March 7 will be held from 2:30-4pm. The North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Art Gallery is currently showing the photography of Craig Kienast, the stain-glass artwork
MASON CITY – Shortly after 10 am Saturday morning, 29-year-old Kenneth Shaun Neilsen was booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on a serious misdemeanor charge of serious assault. Neilsen has been
Charles City Police Chief Mike Wendel said in an email that “2011 has been difficult for the police department.” According to its website, the Charles City Police Department consists of 14 sworn
I want you to know that Kathy called me this morning to inform me of your passing; it saddened me terribly. Naturally I was hoping you would get to 101, then I
Orlan Love, CR Gazette – CEDAR RAPIDS — For reasons ranging from personal security to “because I can,” the number of Iowans with permits to carry concealed weapons increased 154 percent during the
By Kacie Krominga – MASON CITY – Saving lives, and being rock star while doing it, or so to speak. The 9th annual “Blood Donors Rock” blood drive was held Friday at Southbridge