Mason City, IA

Mason City is located in north-central Iowa at the crossroads of US 18 and US 65, about eight miles east of I-35. Most visitors take Exit 194 from I-35, which connects Minneapolis (2.5 hours north) and Des Moines (2 hours south). The city sits along the Winnebago River in rolling agricultural country and experiences typical Midwest weather with cold winters and humid summers. Mason City is the birthplace of "The Music Man" composer Meredith Willson, and his preserved boyhood home on East State Street operates as a museum.