Parkersburg News

After a natural disaster and now facing tough economic times, one community still finds a reason to give.

Tyler Morgan of Centerville is a member of the 2009-10 Central College Symphonic Wind Ensemble.

Mark Becker plans to claim insanity and/or diminished responsibility in his eluding trial, as well as his first-degree murder trial.

District Court Judge Stephen P. Carroll has ruled that Mark Becker is competent to stand trial in the June 24 murder of Aplington-Parkersburg Coach Ed Thomas.

One man is in custody, after he was seen carrying what appeared to be a gun near the Parkersburg Elementary School Thursday.

Butler County sheriff's deputies took into custody a man thought to have been carrying a gun near an elementary school that was later determined to be an air pistol.

The EF-5 tornado that ravaged the small community of Parkersburg, IA, in late May 2008, was the most devastating twister to strike the Hawkeye state in more than 30 years, unleashing a 43-mile path of destruction spanning three counties.

TheDes Moines Register won two regional Emmy awards over the weekend. The awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Upper Midwest Chapter.

On June 24, Iowa lost an outstanding citizen, Ed Thomas, the Aplington-Parkersburg football coach, described by one of his former players as 'a great football coach and an even better man.' Thomas was shot with a handgun.

Posted on Sep 16, 2009 by Jennifer Hemmingsen . Has it really been a year? Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that so much and so little seems to have changed since I started as a columnist last September.

More>> Local Health Officials React to President Barack Obama address to a joint session of Congress and the nation on Health Care Reform.

Check back later for a re-play of Part 1 of this morning's proceedings as alleged murderer Mark Becker appeared in court for a hearing on his mental ability to stand trial for the shooting death of Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas.

Alleged murderer Mark Becker will be present in court today for a hearing on his mental ability to stand trial for the shooting death of Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas.

Jay Harkless shut the door on his friend. By that point, what else could he do? Sure, he'd been close friends with Mark Becker since third grade, when Becker challenged him to race on the playground.

Psychiatrist Michael Taylor asked alleged murderer Mark Becker for his side of the story Friday and just listened to him talk.

With a little more than two months since Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas was fatally shot in the school's weight room, school safety is in the spotlight of national attention.

Parkersburg, Ia. - For Joan Becker, football was a welcome - and overdue - relief.

In an Aug. 27 story about a mental compentency hearing for the suspect in the shooting death of Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas, The Associated Press incorrectly reported the hearing would be overseen by a U.S. District Court judge.

An application filed Tuesday morning claims Mark Becker is not competent to stand trial.

An application filed Tuesday morning claims Mark Becker is not competent to stand trial.