Residents Meet With Supervisors

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County residents from Jackson Township are set to present concerns about a possible confined animal feeding operation planned that area. Residents are expected to present their concerns during Wednesday's regular meeting with the Supervisors. In addition, the Board will receive a proposed resolution addressing those concerns. The matter is included as an agenda item for the Supervisors and will require their consideration.

Airport Commission to Award Contract

BOONE, Iowa---With luck, the Boone Municipal Airport Commission is expected to award a contract for the next phase of a substantial rehabilitation of the parking apron at the airport. The work is part of the Commission's overall improvement plan which has drawn interest from pilots that would like to house aircraft at the airport. A recent addition involved the construction new hangars which were funded through an IJobs program and private investment from pilots. Recently, the Commission met with the City Council's Economic Development Committee to discuss possible assistance to relocate an aviation business to the airport.

River Rescue

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says an unidentified number of people were rescued off the Des Moines River Monday afternoon, after becoming stranded south of US Highway 30. Fehr reported that deputies and Boone County Search and Rescue and the Madrid Fire Department were able to communicate with the group by cell phone. They were taken off the river. No injuries were reported.

Two Doctors Hired

BOONE, Iowa---As expected, the Boone County Hospital Board of Trustees approved two contracts Thursday, hiring two practitioners for Boone County Family Medicine. Dr. Wahid Riad from Waterloo is expected to begin in August and Dr. Jason Sheffler, currently in Minnesota, is expected to begin January 2012. The need to recruit additional doctors is continuing. Dr. Jerald Phipps recently went on an extended leave and Dr. Richard Vermillion of Ogden was injured in a bicycling accident. No set date for Vermillion's return has been announced.

Memorial Day Service

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Veterans Council has put together the annual Memorial Day Ceremony for Boone area residents. The Boone Ceremony will be held at the G.A.R. Plot at the Linwood Park Cemetery Monday at 10:30 AM. Boone Attorney Richard T. Jordan will deliver the address. Other participants will be the American Legion Auxiliary, VFW Auxiliary, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Boy Scouts of Boone.

Household Hazardous Waste

BOONE, Iowa---The Clean up Crew will be in Boone Saturday morning for the annual Household Hazardous Waste Clean-up event. Volunteers will join the Clean up Crew at the northeast parking lot on the DMACC Boone Campus. Residents may drop off acceptable materials between 9:oo AM and 11:00 AM. There's no charge to bring items to the drop off location. According to Landfill Administrator Scott Smith, anyone that misses the event can call the landfill at 433-0591 to schedule an appointment to bring household hazardous materials to the landfill. Information about what will be accepted during the event can by found here.

Hospital Board Considers Doctor Hires

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Hospital Board of Trustees will be considering approval of a couple of contracts for doctors that become part of Boone County Family Medicine. A search had been underway for a doctor to replace Dr. James Hardinger who passed away unexpectedly two years ago. This month, Dr. Jerald Phipps went on an extended leave and is not expected to return. Two candidates have tentatively agreed to contracts which could gain approval during the Thursday board meeting.

Central Iowa Expo Reps Update Supervisors

BOONE, Iowa---Continued concerns by Boone County Supervisors about the financial viability of the Central Iowa Expo remain. Julie Weeks with Ames CVB and Kurt Phillips with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce told the Supervisors this week that current operations will be handled by a committee of themselves and Bob Fisher with Boone's Future. Weeks told the Supervisors a more detailed operating plan to cover the next 18 months is being prepared. A separate committee will be organized to focus on the problem of long term debt for the site that serves as the Iowa home to the Farm Progress Show.

Motorcycle Accident Information Released

BOONE, Iowa---The Iowa State Patrol has released information about a motorcycle accident Monday near Luther. The operator was identified as 60 year old Gerald Gene Simpson of Fort Dodge. Troopers report that Simpson was traveling south on Highway 17, in a construction zone north of Luther when he braked and wrecked his motorcycle. Simpson sustained a serious head injury and was flown from the scene to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. There has been no update on his condition.

Transmission Line Proposed in Boone County

BOONE, Iowa---The Iowa Utilities Board staff was on hand in Boone to conduct a required informational meeting about a proposed electric transmission line. A large crowd of residents and property owners that had been notified showed up at the Gigglin' Goat, many to protest the project. The Cyclone Wind Project would be built east of Stratford in southern Hamilton County, but the proposed transmission line would run along "Q" Avenue in Boone County to the Boone Junction Substation northeast of Boone. The developer of the project is enXco.

Drainage District Bid Accepted

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone and Webster County Supervisors met over the phone Wednesday as a Joint Drainage District Board. They accepted a bid from Reutzel Excavating for $45,305 for work in the drainage district which is the Don Williams Watershed. The bid was about 10% over the engineers estimate, but was still $4,300 less then the next lowest bid. Work is not expected to begin until this fall after crops are out and conditions are dry.

Historical Presentation

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Historical Society monthly Heritage Program will have a tie to the Memorial Day Holiday. The Society's Executive Director Charles Irwin says the presentation will focus on military and fraternal symbolism in Boone cemeteries. Irwin says Suzanne Caswell developed the program several years ago, but it's been updated to include burials from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The free program begins at 7:00 Thursday at the Boone County Historical Center.

Legislative Week Uneventful

BOONE, Iowa---State Representative Chip Baltimore said Friday he doesn't expect the State of Iowa to shut down due to a lack of an agreement on the budget. Baltimore says he won't be surprised if talks go well into June, but he feels a compromise will be worked out. The first term Republican from Boone says talks have continued among the leadership and he feels progress is being made, but more work remains.

Relay for Life Approaching

BOONE, Iowa---The 2011 Boone County Relay for Life is two weeks away. Organizers are still encouraging team participation, something that has waned a bit in recent years. Those wishing to support the Relay can always participate in some of the other opportunities, like purchasing a luminary for that night. There is still time for Survivors to get signed up and to participate as well. The Boone County Relay for Life will be held Friday, June 3rd from 6:00 PM until 12:00 AM at Goeppinger Field in Boone. The Luminary vigil will overnight at the Boone HyVee.

Bluff Creek Triathlon

PILOT MOUND, Iowa---Mother nature may be the biggest challenge during this weekends annual Bluff Creek Triathlon. The early season event continues to draw participants. The Bluff Creek Triathlon uses the Don Williams Recreation Area and offers both Olympic and Sprint divisions. With any luck, contestants won't be battling thunderstorms, but rain into the weekend should have an impact on the swimming portion. The water temperature at Don Williams was 57 degrees.

Drug Arrests

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Sheriff's Department, Story County Sheriff's Department and the Central Iowa Drug Task Force executed a search warrant late Thursday morning at 6100 West Lincolnway, Lot #3, Ames. Sheriff Ron Fehr says the address is located in Boone County. He says an active meth lab was discovered inside a trailer home. Charged with Conspiracy to Manufacture Meth were 44-year old Romy Lynn Petra, 46-year old Rodney S. Taylor, 27-year old Nicole M. Yunglas, 33-year old Brian L. Robertson and 19-year old Katelyn S. Winkler all of Ames. A vehicle leaving the scene was also stopped and the driver, 30-year old Justin J. Schrader of Ames was wanted on a Boone County Warrant and was also charged with driving under suspension. Fehr says the Kelly and Ames Fire Departments assisted and the investigation is continuing.

County Appeals Board Receives Extension

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County has received a maximum extension to complete the property tax assessment appeal process. The announcement this week by the Iowa Department of Revenue will now allow the local Appeals Board time to complete the task of dealing with more than 800 appeals. By law, the Board receives appeals by May 5th and needs to complete the process by May 31st. The maximum extension allows the process to continue until July 15th, and that's what was approved. A number of Boone County residents filed appeals following the reassessment of residential properties last year.

City Board to Meet Saturday.

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council Economic Development Committee and the Boone Airport Commission will hold a joint meeting Saturday morning at the Boone Municipal Airport. There are no action items on the agenda, but the two groups will be discussing options and alternatives to assist with locating an interest flight service at the airport. The Airport Commission has been active in trying to lure pilots and airport related businesses to the airport and is currently in the process of planning improvements on the taxiway. Two new hangars were recently completed and Commission members say they do have a waiting list of potential investors in future hangar construction.

Ogden Storm Sewer Nears Completion

OGDEN, Iowa---Ogden residents will begin seeing finishing work on their $1.2 million storm sewer project that is expected to divert storm water away from the city's sanitary sewer system. The project like many across the state, mandated by the Iowa DNR to keep overflow volumes from reaching the Ogden treatment plant. City Administrator Donovan Olson says the work is substantially complete, meaning the pipe is in the ground. over the next couple of weeks, finishing work and seeding will be done.

Council Accepts Bid

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council has accepted the apparent low bid from Keller Excavating of Boone for the next phase of the sanitary sewer rehab project. The area for the work is on Linn Street from the Industrial Park Road through the intersection with 11th Street. Boone Mayor John Slight says the work will address a bottle neck in the sanitary sewer system. Slight says bid from Keller was just over $693,000. The only thing remaining are the necessary permits from the Iowa DNR. Work is scheduled to begin June 1 and end on or about August 24th. The project was estimated to cost about $850,000.

Lottery Chief in Boone

BOONE, Iowa---Terry Rich, President and CEO of the Iowa Lottery paid a visit to Boone Tuesday, in an effort to encourage a recent $1 million Power Ball winner to come forward. Rich says a visit was made to the north side Casey's where the winning ticket was sold. He says people have reported a number of rumors but no winner has been confirmed. Rich told KWBG listeners that the winner needs to sign the ticket first and foremost, then put it away in a secure location. After that, visit with an attorney or financial advisor. He also says the Lottery can provide assistance to the winner, confidentially. Rich says the identity of the winner will be released when the ticket has been confirmed.

Economic Development at Airport

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council's Economic Development Committee received an update on potential growth at the Boone Municipal Airport Monday. The discussion has been about offering possible incentives to help with the relocation of an aviation business. The Airport Commission has been committed to making improvements at the airport, and has recently begun a campaign to expand hangar space. It's possible members of the Airport Commission and the Council's Economic Development Committee will meet at the airport to discuss opportunities.

The Diabetic Chef Comes to Boone

BOONE, Iowa---Chris Smith, known by many as The Diabetic Chef will participate in a Boone County Hospital Foundation "Educating and Empowering U" program on diabetes Thursday. Sara Behn, Foundation Executive Director has said they were very excited to get Smith to come to Boone and were even more excited to build an afternoon and evening program for the public. Food and several vendors are also taking part in the Thursday program, which will be held on the Boone Campus of Des Moines Area Community College. Tickets are $10.00. Registration and additional information is available here.

Sanitary Sewer Rehab Continues

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council will consider bids for the next phase of the on going sanitary sewer rehabilitation project in Boone. City Engineer Wayne Schwartz had said the next are will be north of the underpass on Linn Street. The work will only involve fixing a bottle neck in the system on Linn Street north of the underpass. Engineers estimated the project to cost nearly $850,000. The apparent low bid is just under $700,000, but the contractor does not have the necessary permits from the DNR. Schwartz will ask the Council for approval pend receipt of the necessary waste water construction permits.

Stamp Out Hunger

BOONE, Iowa---Postal carriers at the Boone Post Office felt pretty good about their "Help Stamp Out Hunger" food drive for the local food pantries last Saturday. Debbi Wirtz told KWBG that 4,439 lbs of nonperishable food items were collected during the event, with both Red Rock Community Action and the Salvation Army benefiting from the drive. Wirtz says a big "Thanks" goes out to family members that joined letter carriers with the effort Saturday. The benefit of the "Help Stamp Out Hunger" campaign is filling food bank shelves as schools let out and children no longer have access to school lunches.

Building Demolition

BOONE, Iowa---The demolition of two vacant elementary buildings in Boone will begin by the end of the month. Superintendent Brad Manard says the School Board accepted bids Tuesday. Bids totaled just under $507,000. Estimated from DLR, engineers for the work, were at more than $650,000. Manard says asbestos abatement will begin first and demolition will follow. Sites are expected to be leveled and seeded in August. After that, the School Board will begin the process of making the lots available for residential development.

Elementary Band Position Retained

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone School Board has accepted a personnel plan that creates a Dean of Students position at the Middle School and keeps the elementary band director position. Boone Superintendent Brad Manard says Dean of Students position was needed to deal with student discipline at the Middle School. He also said the Board did accept retaining the elementary band position, but the decision may need to be revisited next year, depending on legislative action. Manard says more than 30 applications have already been received.

Council To Receive RAGBRAI Update

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council expressed concerns about finances for this summers RAGBRAI overnight stay. City Administrator Luke Nelson said at the time that he wanted to get a feel for how much responsibility the City should assume if the planned activities end in the red. Nelson told the Council it had been a topic of discussion between the City and Chamber. A couple of Council members expressed concern about not being included in updates about the visit. Next Monday, a member of the RAGBRAI Executive Committee is expected to give the Council a report on the status of plans.

School Building Demolition

BOONE, Iowa---It's taken a little longer than expected, but the Boone School Board will approve bids for building demolition, asbestos control and soil testing Tuesday. The Board had hoped a useful purpose could be found for the vacated Lowell and Bryant Elementary buildings. Since the decision to vacate the buildings, the School Board has consistently said the buildings could be sold, but the buyer would need to demonstrate a beneficial use for the neighborhood and community. Since no one purchased the buildings, the Board opted for demolition because of the ongoing costs to maintain the structures.

Ketchum Joins Conservation Board

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Conservation Board welcomed it's newest member this week. Molly Ketchum was named to fill the vacancy created with the election of Steve Duffy to the Boone County Board of Supervisors. Duffy had been one of the longest serving County Conservation Board members in the state prior to his run for Supervisor. The Board is currently chaired by Becky Roorda and includes Neil Goeppinger, Al Treloar and Mark Trueblood.

Johnny Appleseed

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone Johnny Appleseed Project will mark it's 28th year Saturday with the planting of nearly 200 trees. John Murphy is teaming up with Phil Brown for this year's campaign and says a number of volunteers are already lined up but more are welcome. Anyone wishing to participate should dress appropriately and bring along a shovel if possible. Volunteers will gather at the Herman Park Pavilion Saturday by 7:00 AM. Murphy says the work should be done before 10:00 AM. Murphy noted that volunteers have planted more than 9,000 trees as part of the Appleseed Project.

School Board Personnel Matters

BOONE, Iowa---Last month, the Boone School Board was asked to reconsider eliminating the elementary band position. Superintendent Brad Manard had said the position was not being filled following a retirement. An appeal was made by current and former staff to the Board that was short two members. The matter has been held until Tuesday's meeting and to make it possible for more people to attend, the start time has been changed to 5:00 PM. The Board will consider the matter, along with contracts and non-renewal notices.

BCH Seeks CMS Input

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Hospital, like many critical access hospitals in the country are trying to determine their course of action to incorporate mandated digital records. Hospital Chief Executive Office Joe Smith says they have asked the Centers for Medicare Services for some idea about reimbursement for money that's spent to purchase and install a system. So far only a few questions have been answered. Smith noted that technical consultant estimated the hospital would need to spend $500,000 of it's own money. The hospitals auditing firm BKD has made an estimate of $1.5 million. A decision to move ahead is still expected in the next several weeks.

Park Commission Focuses on Projects

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone Park Commission is continuing to promote their "Support Boone City Parks" campaign which is directing contributions to the Boone Parks Foundation. Mike Swarts, Park Commission President says selling the decals for a minimum $5 donation has added quite a bit to the funds needed to make improvements to the McHose Park Shelter House. Swarts says the Commission moved ahead with the decal idea because there are not always enough General Fund dollars available at the city level to help with ongoing repairs.

Landfill Fees to Increase

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Supervisors adopted the proposed Landfill Budget for the 2012 Fiscal Year during their meeting Wednesday. The fees will increase by a dollar per ton in the next fiscal year, a decision that was actually addressed a year ago. Landfill Administrator Scott Smith reported that the fee structure will need to be re-examined carefully in the future to make sure the cost of newly implemented landfill rules can be covered. Total revenue in the next fiscal year will exceed $2.1 million.

Quiet Zone

OGDEN, Iowa---The City of Ogden is getting closer to having a quiet zone. The City has been working with the Union Pacific Railroad to establish a quiet zone in the community. This week, Ogden City Administrator Donovan Olson told the Council that traffic counts are currently being taken and a draft study is expected to be available for review within the next week or so. Establishing a quiet zone requires making both vehicle and pedestrian more difficult to navigate. Olson says the idea is to keep costs as low as possible for the city.

Machine Shed Fire

BOONE, Iowa---Boone Firefighters spent several hours at the scene of a fire on the north side of the city Wednesday. The department responded to a structure fire shortly before 3:00 Wednesday afternoon and remained on the scene until nearly 7:00. Officials say the fire was well established upon their arrival and the dry conditions and strong winds continued to fan the blaze. The building and all it's contents, including tractors, skid loaders, a pontoon and other items were considered a complete loss. Officials say the building was owned by David and Vicki Coleman. There were no injuries and the cause is under investigation.

Structure Fire

BOONE, Iowa---Dry conditions caused a couple of fire problems for the Boone Fire Department Tuesday and things didn't get any better Wednesday. Multiple trucks and fire fighters were at the scene of a machine shed fire on the north side of Boone. Strong winds and dry conditions fanned the blaze and forced fire fighters to spend several hours on the scene. The cause of the fire was not available and there were no apparent injuries. Officials were unable to release any information on the contents of the machine shed.

DMACC Boone Campus Graduation

BOONE, Iowa---The 83rd Des Moines Area Community College's Boone Campus Commencement will be held Friday at 10:00 AM in the Boone Campus Gymnasium. The commencement address will be delivered by Shelly Schmit, Vice President of Organizational Development at North Iowa Area Community College. Schmit attended DMACC, earning here AA Degree in 1984. Schmit went on to earn her Bachelors and Master's Degrees from Iowa State University. She is currently a doctoral student at ISU. Boone Campus Provost Tom Lee will preside over the Commencement.

Project Beautify on Hold for 2011

OGDEN, Iowa---The Ogden City Council has put on hold the 2011 edition of Project Beautify. The decision doesn't mean something might not come up, but at the present time, Project Beautify will not take place. A suggestion was made to check on doing vouchers for residents that wanted to haul items to the Boone County Landfill, but that was not warmly received by the Landfill. One of the big issues has been volunteers to take part in the community clean up. Council members did discuss doing targeted clean up on a smaller basis, but no final decisions were made.

Supervisors to Move Ahead With Bond Sale

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Board of Supervisors will have to direct bond counsel to begin the process of selling bonds to cover costs associated with the Central Iowa Expo site. The Board has held off on the sale of bonds, awaiting financial reimbursement from Central Iowa Expo. The original plan called for the cost to be covered through fund raising and off season events at the Central Iowa Expo site. Over the past couple of months, the Supervisors have been working with the Central Iowa Expo Board to deal with financing issues.

Boone Sanitary Sewer Rehab Changes Focus

BOONE, Iowa---Wayne Schwartz, Boone City Engineer with Foth Engineering told the Boone City Council this week that the first phases of the sanitary sewer rehab work in Boone has focused on bigger pipe. He says the next phase will hopefully avoid digging up streets and installing bigger pipe. Schwartz says the new focus will be on dealing with the actual problem of storm water getting into the sanitary sewer system. Last month the Council added extra money to the Property Protection Program. Boone Mayor John Slight says work is going to continue. He says the Council wants the work to be more cost effective.

Ogden Council Discuss Project Beautify

OGDEN, Iowa---The Ogden City Council will discuss what can be done to continue Project Beautify. Ogden was one of the first in the area to designate and focus a city wide clean up effort. Over the years, Project Beautify has changed some what. The Council put together a program in 2010 that was slightly different than previous efforts. The Council will discuss what can be done to keep the effort alive in 2011.

Youth Theatre Program Planned for June

BOONE, Iowa---Boone Community Theatre will once again offer a youth theatre program in June. Mary Maybee says the some final decisions need to be made, but young people completing 5th, 6th and 7th grades are being invited to participate. A determination about including 8th graders is pending. Maybee says participants get an opportunity to learn all aspects of theatre from acting to set work. More information is expected to be sent home with students soon. The Youth Theatre Program begins June 6th.

Sanitary Sewer Rehab to Continue

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council will take formal action to approve professional services for the next phase of the city's sanitary sewer rehabilitation work. Wayne Schwartz, with Foth Engineering has been serving as the City Engineer and has helped with the planning of the proposed CMOM program. CMOM deals with the capacity, management, operation and maintenance of the sewer systems.

Digital Record Time Frame

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Hospital Board of Trustees last week reviewed a time frame for moving ahead with mandated digital records. The Board expects work to begin on putting a system in place in early 2012 and completed by the end of 2013. The mandate requires that a system be operational for at least 90 days. Reimbursement opportunity will diminish in 2015. Hospital Chief Executive Officer Joe Smith has said the project could be about $5 million. Estimated expenses for the hospital range from $500,000 to $1.4 million.