A central Iowa man was arrested over the weekend just days after the start of a Mason City youth group project involving public pianos. Mason City police were called to the plaza north of Southbridge Mall early Sunday morning after someone had tipped over a piano that was part of the “Tunes for the Town” project.
Twenty-one-year-old Colton Schupach of Des Moines was later arrested and charged with public intoxication and third-degree criminal mischief. The “Tunes for the Town” project involves students from Mason City High, Newman, and the Alternative High School who are part of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce youth leadership group. They recently refurbished four donated upright pianos and last week placed them in the downtown area.
The group got the idea due to the city’s musical heritage and seeing similar concepts in communities like Iowa City and Cedar Rapids where pianos are set up outdoors for people to play. A similar project is under consideration currently in Des Moines.
(Reporting by Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)