Waterloo & Cedar Falls Courier

We know you're gearing up for all the sights and sounds of Christmas. Sure, it's not even Thanksgiving, but that's not stopping you. Or us.

CEDAR FALLS — Walking into the new addition to the John Deere Product Engineering Center is like having the sun come out.

“Fallout 4” has ruined my life. The game has stripped away all about life that is good: family, romance, friendships, movies, stable employment, food, sleep. Playing “Fallout 4” requires sacrifice that can’t possibly be worth a video game. Right?

WATERLOO — A woman sitting in a café writing a letter becomes irritated by man’s incessantly ringing cell phone. Finally, she steps over to say, “Would you mind answering that?”, or if he’d prefer not to, to simply turn off…

WATERLOO — Black Hawk County’s elected officials will see 4 percent pay increases later this year.

CEDAR FALLS | Cedar Valley Winterfest, originally scheduled for Jan. 17, was postponed due to, well, winter.

Back when I was first striking out on my own, I would email my mom every time I got a hankering for a particular food item I remembered fondly from my childhood. The emails I got back were delightfully hilarious…

DECORAH — The Luther College Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Daniel Baldwin, will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at the West High School Auditorium.

CEDAR FALLS — The Hearst Center for the Arts is celebrating the legacy of Martin Luther King with a series of films Sunday afternoons during January.

WATERLOO | The Cedar Valley Roller Derby league will begin its 2016 season Jan. 23 at McElroy Auditorium on the National Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo.

WATERLOO — The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Worker House will host a fundraiser for its “need more room at the inn” project.

WATERLOO — Tickets are available for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet, which will be Sunday at Electric Park Ballroom, 310 W. Conger St.

INDEPENDENCE | The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Master Gardener program will host a winter webinar series this month and in February.

WASHINGTON | Sen. Charles Grassley will hold nine town meetings in Iowa Jan. 6-8 as part of his annual 99-county meetings.

HONOLULU (AP) | After being on the wrong side of a 16-point loss less than 24 hours earlier, the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball team was chomping at the bit to take the floor again Wednesday night.

WATERLOO | Only a slight chance exists for snow before Christmas Day and an even smaller possibility that what does accumulate will stick around long.

WATERLOO | Mayor Buck Clark closed his final city meeting with words of hope for Waterloo's future and sharp condemnation for his critics.

WATERLOO | Two men who killed when they were teenagers have been given a shot at parole.

WATERLOO | The cons outweighed the pros for U.S.1st District Rep. Rod Blum, in the year-end $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that Congress passed and the president signed on Friday.

WATERLOO | A judge has found a Waterloo man guilty of attacking a woman in her home over the summer.

CEDAR FALLS | A lot of kids in the Cedar Falls area now have bikes, helmets and locks.

WATERLOO | All Cecilia Snook wanted to do was lower her house payment.

WATERLOO | Having an older brother who wrestled and wrestled at a high level wasn't always easy for John Bowlsby.

WATERLOO | Farming practices in Haiti lag far behind American agriculture.

HUDSON | Don Bosco wrestling coach Tom Hogan has a postseason mantra his wrestlers are hearing frequently this time of year.

CEDAR FALLS | With winter's grip tightening in the upper Midwest, it's easy to imagine why the Caribbean still leads among travel destination looking ahead to 2015.

CEDAR FALLS | Sam Schillinger is no longer looking to push the red jerseys ahead of him as he navigates the cross country circuit of 5K's. The Cedar Falls sophomore is now a varsity runner setting the pace during the…

WATERLOO | Police are investigating an overnight shooting early Saturday that left one man dead.