MASON CITY | Tiffany Jacobson has lived on the North End for 13 years. She likes her neighborhood, enjoys seeing kids play outside on her block and takes pride in where she lives.

And with the Blue Heron Bar & Grille and Little Chicago opening on North Federal Avenue within the past few months, she hopes the city and community can continue to build and improve her end of Mason City.

"It's gotten a lot better aesthetically," Jacobson, 46, said of the North End. "I don't know how you can promote more businesses because these buildings are really old, but as long as they can make them look nice ... they're old buildings, and I don't want to see them torn down. It would just make it look more empty."