National Night Out takes place at Mason City Arena tonight

MASON CITY — National Night Out takes place tonight at the Mason City Arena.

Courtney Moretz with the Mason City Police Department says it’s a good way for citizens to interact with law enforcement and other agencies.  “National Night Out is a community partnership between any resource providers, our citizens and law enforcement. We’re just wanting to encourage some healthy communication and some participation between all parties involved.”

Nicole Jacobs from the Friends of the Family organization says several organizations from the area will be participating in the event. “We are going to have units and personnel from the Mason City Police Department, the Clear Lake Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department, and the Mason City Fire Department. They will have their different units, their trucks, the MRAP will be there. Window World will have their race car there. The Community Health Center will be there, Public Health will be there, Crisis Intervention, Prairie Ridge, North Iowa Mutual Aid, Alliant Chiropractic. Just a whole variety of different resources from the community.”

Moretz says it’s pleasing to see families come out for an event to learn more about the resources in their community. “Everyone is just so excited about it. It’s so fun to see the parents with their kids. We have a bunch of activities that they’ll be able to participate in. We’ll have inflatables, we’ll have a pedal pull. The Boy Scouts are having an activity. It also gives families an opportunity to connect with resources they may not know are in our community. So come with questions and we’ll point you in the right direction to get those answered.”

The event is free and runs from 5:00 to 8:00 PM in the Mason City Arena.