Founded in 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times – GALLUP, N.M. — Five years ago, the man Elsie Smith loved told her calmly from his hospital bed that it was time for him to go.
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times – KABUL, Afghanistan — Eight members of the NATO force were killed in southern Afghanistan in a 24-hour period ending Friday, Western military officials said. NATO’s International
MCT FORUM – By Dimitri B. Papadimitriou – Is high unemployment as certain as death and taxes? Of course not. But if we depend on the private sector to bring rates down, joblessness
By Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Joe Arpaio, criticized by the U.S. Department of Justice for what it called discrimination against Latinos, said Thursday that he would seek a
By Raheem Salman and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times – BAGHDAD — A string of explosions targeting Shiite Muslim pilgrims that killed at least 71 people bore the hallmark of Sunni insurgents who
By David S. Cloud and Christi Parsons, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — Outlining new military priorities after a costly decade of war, President Barack Obama called for shrinking the Army and Marines
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The European Union appears on the verge of banning its member countries from buying Iranian oil, a move that would culminate a years-long behind-the-scenes
By Arelis Hernandez, Hal Boedeker and Amy Pavuk, The Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — A video of a woman who looks and sounds like Casey Anthony has surfaced online, in what she describes
By Christi Parsons, Tribune Washington Bureau – WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a new defense strategy that he says will make U.S. military forces “leaner” in the coming years while
By Amro Hassan, Los Angeles Times – CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood, expected to dominate the final round of Egyptian parliamentary elections, called Wednesday for unity with other political parties in ushering in
By Cristina Munoz and Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times QUITO, Ecuador — In the face of increasing tension between Iran and the West, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans a four-nation tour of Latin
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times – KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen ambushed and killed a prominent tribal elder in Helmand province Wednesday as he was on his way to evening prayers, Afghan officials
By Raheem Salman and Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times – BAGHDAD and BEIRUT — A string of explosions Thursday targeting Shiite Muslim pilgrims in the south of Iraq and mainly Shiite neighborhoods of
Mark Newman, Ottumwa Courier, Iowa – OTTUMWA The state as a whole may have lost students 14 years straight, but it may be the smaller and rural districts which have felt the
Jasen Asay, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah – CLEARFIELD — The next time Jana Taylor takes her dog for a walk in the park, she plans to carry pepper spray and her cellphone. Those two
By Janet Stobart, Los Angeles Times – LONDON — There were all the elements of a mystery novel of the type Britons love so well: a wooded area on the queen’s country estate,
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times – SEATTLE — Montana has engaged in a long, slow dance between corporations and politicians through much of its history. The free-spending audacity of the copper kings
By Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune – CHICAGO — Michael Allison is a lot of trouble for a small town. The 42-year-old car buff from Bridgeport, about 250 miles south of Chicago, has repeatedly
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times – KABUL — In its most public indication to date of a willingness to enter peace negotiations, the Taliban movement announced Tuesday it planned to open a
By Todd C. Frankel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch – JOPLIN, Mo. — The volunteers started arriving at first light. Some lived nearby. Others drove through the night. No one summoned them. They just showed
By John Diedrich and Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – MILWAUKEE — Five years ago, whistleblowers sent a letter to federal regulators warning that contaminated baby wipes were streaming out of an Arkansas
By John Diedrich and Ben Poston, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – MILWAUKEE — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is required to inspect drugmakers every two years, but the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found more
By Jonathan S. Landay and Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers – WASHINGTON — The possibility of a confrontation between the United States and Iran appeared to rise Tuesday after the Obama administration declared
By Anthony Colarossi, The Orlando Sentinel – ORLANDO, Fla. — Supporters clapped outside the Orange County Courthouse Tuesday as retired prosecutor Jeff Ashton announced his bid for state attorney, challenging his former boss
By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times – LOS ANGELES — Weight-loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease, a new study shows. But the research also
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times BEIJING — The government demolition of a newly refurbished mosque in a northern Chinese village has raised tensions with the Hui, a Muslim group that in the
By Sheera Frenkel, McClatchy Newspapers – JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestinian officials met Tuesday in Jordan’s capital, Amman, in the first attempt at peace talks in more than a year. As expected, there
By Alexandra Zavis and Amro Hassan, Los Angeles Times – BEIRUT — Syria’s government has taken steps to comply with a regional initiative to end months of bloodshed, including pulling tanks out of
By Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times – CAIRO — Wrapped in a shawl on a cold morning, Gamal Banna shuffled over a dusty carpet amid fraying books on old civilizations. He knows well
Massapequa, NY – One of the performers who shared the stage with Buddy Holly during the final show of his life in Clear Lake, Iowa is dead. Doo-wop singer Freddie Milano died
Trey Mewes, Austin Daily Herald, Minn. – Buddy Holly fans should take note this Friday. That’ll be the day a tribute to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valenz and The Big Bopper comes to town.
Carlos Sadovi and Kate Thayer, Chicago Tribune – A 62-year-old man was critically injured this morning after he was attacked by what police described as two adult pit bull terriers while jogging along
By David Barber WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s quake-ravaged city of Christchurch was rocked Monday by 17 earthquakes in 18 hours. No serious damage was reported from the swarm, which
By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times SEATTLE — A troubled veteran of the war in Iraq suspected in the fatal shooting of a park ranger was found dead Monday near a steep, snowy
By Tom Hussain, McClatchy Newspapers – ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani Islamist militants on Sunday pledged to cease their four-year insurgency against Pakistani security forces, and join the Taliban’s war against NATO troops in
By Nick Provenza, The Seattle Times – SEATTLE — A man was found dead in Mount Rainier National Park this morning and he is believed to be the suspect in the shooting death
Sarah Stultz, Albert Lea Tribune, Minn. – Two people died Sunday afternoon after a rollover on Interstate 90 one mile west of the Bricelyn exit. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, icy road
By Gary L. Wright, McClatchy Newspapers – CHARLOTTE, N.C. — U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney kept his 9 mm pistol under his black robe in a holster strapped to his right leg. The
By Linda P. Campbell, McClatchy Newspapers – The starkest evidence of how conservative southwest Missouri is didn’t come from the Interstate 44 roadside ads for Fantastic Caverns, the constant reminders of how much
MCT FORUM By Jose Miguel Leyva – Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s kingdom in Maricopa County needs to come to an end. For too many years, his office has weathered scandal after scandal, lawsuit upon