MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo man has been found guilty of murder in the death of a 23-year-old Mason City man. A Cerro Gordo County jury found James Farnsworth the Second guilty yesterday of second-degree murder in the slaying of Ian Decker. The 22-year-old man began to cry as the verdict was read.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo man faces a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of a Des Moines man. Twenty-six-year-old Orlando Moore has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Anthony Gardner. The 27-year-old Gardner was found last month lying on the porch of a home on the city’s east side. Moore was arrested yesterday for a probation violation. He remains at the Black Hawk County Jail.

TIFFIN, Iowa (AP) — Johnson County is clearing 24 acres of dead and dying pine trees that will be used to help the University of Iowa meet its alternative energy goals. The university’s sustainability office is cutting and grinding the invasive species-infested trees at F.W. Kent Park near Tiffin. The converted biomass will be burned with coal in the university’s steam-generating boilers.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Agriculture officials say there’s little movement in northeast Iowa of an invasive insect known for killing ash trees. The Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team says final results from surveillance efforts in 2012 show little movement from the emerald ash borer. Two traps last year indicated the metallic green beetles had moved inland from the Mississippi River.