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The first Clear Lake newspaper, the Independent, was published on February 10, 1860. It continued
publication for about a year before being moved to Hancock County. In 1869, the Observer was
established. After two years the proprietor, George E. Frost, sold the office to Judge M.P. Rosecrans.
He, too, soon sold the office to parties in Belmond. Mr. Frost then purchased a new outfit and for a
few years was the editor. In 1879 he sold to Mr. Bush who changed the name to the Clear Lake Mirror.
In 1896, J.C. Davenport established another weekly paper which he called the Clear Lake Reporter.
These two publications combined under one owner when the Reporter purchased the Mirror in 1951.
For a while, the Mirror published on Tuesdays and the Reporter published on Fridays. This went on
until January of 1955 when the two joined together to become the Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter.
In 1983, the Mirror-Reporter was purchased by Prefin, Inc. The team of Dave Presler and Michael
Finnegan comprised the business as well as owning other area newspapers. Presler eventually
moved on from the company and focus was placed to ownership of the Clear Lake paper by
Finnegan, selling off the other newspapers and concentrating all his efforts into the paper as it is
now. Finnegan has achieved numerous accolades in his 34 years of ownership of the paper. In 2011,
The Mirror-Reporter is now a weekly publication and comes out every Wednesday.
CLEAR LAKE LIONS CLUB
The Clear Lake Lions Club is the oldest Lions club in Iowa, formed in 1921. They call themselves the
They bought the land currently known as Lions Field and donated it to the Clear Lake school
system. They have contributed numerous attributes to Clear Lake including, the shelter house at
Touristville Park, the shelter house at Pine Tree Park, the walking paths at Opportunity Village, and
the fountain gazebo building in City Park.
A highlight for the Lions is their annual Chicken BBQ, held the 3rd Sunday in July in downtown
Clear Lake. Thousands of people line the streets around City Park to partake in this delicious meal!
The Globe Gazette, known locally as simply, ‘The Globe,’ is a daily morning newspaper published
in Mason City. It traces its history all the way back to 1858, but was then called the Cerro Gordo
Press, after the county it resides in. In 1925 it acquired its current name, but since it began had
been known as the Republican, the Express, the Express-Republican, the Freeman, the Western-
Democrat, the Herald, the Time-Herald, the Gazette, and then finally, the Globe. The newspaper
was originally published in the afternoon Monday through Saturday. But in 1977, the Saturday
edition switched to a morning publication. In 1981, all publication switched to a morning schedule
which seems fitting as the population generally enjoys the paper over a morning cup of coffee!
The Sunday publication of the Globe made its first run in 1985.
While the Globe-Gazette is published in Mason City, they provide quality journalism throughout
the North Iowa Area, including Clear Lake. Their coverage of Clear Lake school activities,
community events and issues exceeds their reputation over the years.
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long-time Clear Lake business men
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wide cleanup.
Center on I-35
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