Mason City, Iowa city of Mason City, it does serve other communities in the Mason City micropolitan statistical area. The Iowa Northern has facilities in Manly, Iowa. The city also has a municipal airport, Mason City Municipal Airport, (MCW) with commercial service by Air Choice One. It is the airport from which Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper took off on the night of February 2, 1959, after a concert at the Surf Ballroom in nearby Clear Lake, Iowa, only to crash their plane in a historic event later referred to as the Day the Music Died. Mason City, Iowa, and
Ritchie Valens club, "Tommy's Heads Up Saloon", in Dallas in 1979. The club was named for the fateful coin toss between Valens and him twenty years prior. "Boogie with Stu" from Led Zeppelin's "Physical Graffiti" album was inspired by Valens' song "Ooh, My Head". It did not credit Valens or Bob Keane, instead crediting Valens' mother. Eventually, a lawsuit was filed by Keane, and half of the award went to Valens' mother, although she was not part of the suit. On May 11, 1990, 31 years after his death, Ritchie Valens was finally honored. A star baring his name was unveiled on