Four State

By JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) OELWEIN — Firefighters rescued an Oelwein family from the roof of their burning house early Monday. Crews also saved two dogs, but the family’s cats perished in the blaze, according to the city’s police department. The fire apparently started in the kitchen of the Third Avenue

By HOLLY HUDSON HILL – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) WATERLOO — There’s something brewing in Waterloo. In the last few months, a group of passionate people have come together to tend to some unfinished business – the African American Historical and Cultural Museum. Efforts to create a facility to house and share artifacts depicting

By Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) Each December, Courier reporters look back at their favorite stories of the past year. We ask them to pick their favorites: not necessarily the biggest stories of the year, just the ones they found most interesting. Some are heart-warming. Some are amusing. Some are wistful. Here are some of

By CATHERINE CROW – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) PARKERSBURG — Community members in Aplington and Parkersburg have embraced this season of giving by donating Christmas gifts to 38 children with four of them being at the House of Hope Pillars program. The program helps those either leaving or aging out of foster care. With

By SARAH WATSON – Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa (TNS) The Quad-Cities is unlikely to have a white Christmas in 2024 — at least by how the National Weather Service defines it. To be considered a “white Christmas,” there must be at least a half inch of snow on the ground at 6 a.m. Christmas

By JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) WATERLOO — A local Christmas tradition is returning to its roots this year. Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Christmas Dinner is scaling back on the pickup option to concentrate on its in-person meal for 2024. “We want to focus on people that need a meal or would otherwise

By JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) 122424jr-fall-wellington-1 A woman was hospitalized after she suffered a two- to three-story fall at 609 Wellington St., Waterloo, on Tuesday. WATERLOO — A woman was taken to the hospital after she allegedly fell at an apartment building Tuesday. Details weren’t immediately available, but the woman apparently

By JEFF REINITZ – Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) WATERLOO — A Waterloo man has been sentenced to a year and a half in jail in connection with a gun found during a 2023 traffic stop. Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Dominique Doyle Banks, 20, on a charge of drug user in possession of a firearm

By Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) CEDAR FALLS — Students from Cedar Falls and La Porte City are among 34 Iowans nominated for acceptance to U.S. military academies by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. Brayden Bohnsack, La Porte City, and Shae Magley, Cedar Falls, were nominated to enter the United States Air Force Academy during the

By Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa (TNS) CEDAR FALLS — Nearly 700 students celebrated their achievements Saturday as the University of Northern Iowa hosted its fall 2024 commencement at the McLeod Center. According to a news release, there were a total of 664 graduating, including 570 undergraduates and 94 graduate students. Of those, 609 were resident

By DAVID HOTLE – Muscatine Journal, Iowa (TNS) While cases of animal hoarding in Muscatine County are not common, the number is on the rise, with area law enforcement seeing about two cases a year, said Muscatine Police animal control officer Courtney Patel. She said every case of animal hoarding she has seen is different.

By DAVID HOTLE – Muscatine Journal, Iowa (TNS) The flagpole extending on top from the roof of the Muscatine County Courthouse will be permanently removed. Use of the flagpole ceased years ago and now that work is being done to the courthouse, the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors has determined now is a good time

By Grace King – The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 25—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. A Watkins man memorialized the story of how his daughter was adopted into their family in a children’s book they self-published on Amazon illustrated by a local high school student.

By ROBIN McCLELLAND – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) After two hours of debate involving nearly 40 members of the public, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to prohibit utility-scale wind, solar and battery energy developments in rural Cerro Gordo County. Supervisors approved Ordinance 69, making permanent a moratorium on such developments that

By MARY PIEPER – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) When Brian Luallen was growing up, he listened to Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry records every night. Naturally, when he learned the nonprofit North Iowa Cultural Center and Museum was looking for a new CEO for the Surf Ballroom, “It took me about five minutes

By MARY PIEPER – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals, who is retiring Dec. 31 after more than 45 years in law enforcement, first became involved in that career field as a teen. When he was a senior at Clear Lake High School, the town’s police department started a

By ROBIN McCLELLAND – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) Mason City’s Seventh Day Adventist Church welcomed residents to its 10th annual live Nativity scene Saturday. The church glowed warmly with light as guests came up the drive. The sound of Christmas carols drifted across the parking lot as people came to witness the sharing