Constitutional Question

BOONE, Iowa---Voters in November will have several different candidates to choose from, but will also get to vote on a constitutional amendment called the Iowa Water and Land Legacy Amendment. Jim Pease was on KWBG Monday and talked about establishing the trust account that would be protected from raiding by the legislative or executive branches of the government. The ballot issue has been in the works for 4-years. Pease says it will create the process but does not provide funding.

Pufferbilly Days

BOONE, Iowa---The 34th Annual Pufferbilly Days celebration kicked off Thursday evening with a formal flag raising ceremony conducted by the Boone Veterans Council. Boone Mayor John Slight welcomed those in attendance at the Boone County Fair Grounds, and especially paid attention to the families of all the Iowa National Guard members that were recently deployed. Slight also reminded everyone that there's still another contingent of Boone based soldiers that have been in Kosovo. Iowa Adjutant General, Brigadier General Timothy Orr, a Boone native, will serve as the Grand Marshall of the Pufferbilly Days Parade Saturday.

Ogden Building Demolition

OGDEN, Iowa---The Ogden City Council will hold a special meeting Tuesday to move ahead with their plan to award a bid for the demolition of buildings in their city. Ogden Mayor, Kieth Berg, says after reworking the bid specifications, three-bids were received and were substantially lower than the original bid that was received. Berg says Ogden has worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, getting the areas of concern declared Brownfield Areas. He says contracts for demolition work are expected to be approved. More information on Ogden plans are available here.

Dragoon River Romp

BOONE, Iowa---The 5th Annual Dragoon River Romp will be held on September 18th and Coordinator Lois Powers says they have to stop taking volunteers for the program. Powers says this is the earliest they've had to shut off volunteer applications. The Dragoon River Romp is an award winning program in which volunteers garbage and refuse from the Des Moines River in Boone County. Over 16-tons of refuse has been removed from the river in the first four events. Volunteers are limited to 100-on the water and about 50-on land. The limits are set for safety purposes.

Pufferbilly Days

BOONE, Iowa---The annual Pufferbilly Days begins in Boone Thursday. Opening ceremonies will be held at the Boone County Fairgrounds Thursday evening and will include a formal flag raising ceremony conducted by the VFW. Ashley Reutter, Pufferbilly Days Coordinator with the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce says special attention is being given to the families of deployed military personnel. This is the third year that the celebration has been held at the Boone County Fairgrounds. The 2011 celebration is slated to return to a downtown setting.

3 from Madrid Injured in Rollover

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says three-young men from Madrid sustained injuries in a single vehicle rollover, right north of Madrid Tuesday afternoon. 16-year old Mitchell Koontz was driving on Rose Road when he lost control and rolled into the ditch. Passenger 14-year old Colton Braunscheig and Koontz went to Mercy Hospital and a second passenger, 14-year old Jacob Clayton was taken to Mary Greeley Medical Center. Fehr says Koontz was cited with failing to maintain control.

Accident Kills Hogs

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says a semi-rollover in southwest Boone County Tuesday did not injure the driver of the semi, but did result in the death of 70-market hogs. Fehr says 26-year old Anthony Popp of Kamrar lost control on Highway 144 in an area referred to as the Angus Curve. Popp was cited with failing to maintain control. Damages to the semi and trailer were estimated at some $20,000.

Economic Development Talks

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council has decided to discontinue participation in talks about creating a county wide economic development program. On a 4-to-3 vote, the Council voted to continue to operate as they have for the past couple of years, with their own economic development director and working with Boone's Future. With the announcement of the intended retirement of Darrel Rensink as the city's Economic Development Director, discussions began to see if other opportunities would be available through the county.

Water Agreement

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council's Utility Committee and the Logansport Water District Board of Directors will continue to work on an agreement for water service to the rural district. The negotiations have been going on since earlier this year and are nearing completion. One of the latest issues is the proposed water rate offered by the city. Logansport has countered with information about what they consider to be a reasonable increase. The Utility Committee of the City Council meets Wednesday afternoon to discuss the matter.

Burglary Arrests

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says a Friday morning traffic stop by Story City Police has helped with his departments investigation into at least one Boone County burglary. Fehr says evidence has been collected in the burglary of the Western Edge Store in eastern Boone County. Fehr says 19-year old Syyrit Fawn Larson of Story City and 21-year old Brandon Whorlow of Ames are being held for possession of stolen property. Fehr says Boone County charges are pending.

Hospital and "Y" Deal on Building

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Hospital is in the process of turning over the former Heartland building to the "Y" of Greater Des Moines. Hospital Chief Executive Officer Joseph Smith says after 5-years, the time has come to let the "Y" have the facility. The change in ownership will allow the "Y" to make it's own improvements. The building was the property of the Boone County YMCA until the late 1980's. The Boone County Hospital has owned and maintained the facility since then. Smith says the change in ownership should be completed this month.

Natural Gas Line Severed

BOONE, Iowa---Emergency responders were on standby right before noon Tuesday, anticipating a possible evacuation of the Boone HyVee. Sanitary sewer work on 8th Street at Tama Street resulted in a severed natural gas main. The 4-inch main was putting out quite a bit of gas, but officials reported that strong winds were dissipating the gas and not allowing it to accumulate. Personnel from Alliant Utilities were quickly on the scene to make necessary repairs. H & W Construction has had several gas main breaks during the sanitary sewer rehabilitation project.

Road Closure

BOONE, Iowa---Sanitary sewer rehabilitation work continued Tuesday as H & W Contracting began working on 8th Street, between Tama and Benton Streets. Boone City Administrator Luke Nelson announced last Friday afternoon the closure of 8th Street for the work, but many residents didn't get the message. The problem is finding away around the construction site, which means using Story Street and crossing to Benton Street at 5th Street or 11th Street.

SuperNationals

BOONE, Iowa---Once again, the population of Boone has nearly doubled, as America's Racing Vacation gets under way at the Boone Speedway. IMCA SuperNationals begin Monday afternoon and will continue all week. Late last week, promoter Robert Lawton said record numbers of cars were getting pre-registered and he expected the week to be one of the best for race fans. Racing actually begins at 3:00 in the afternoon to avoid problems with racing after midnight. Already, law enforcement had early morning calls to deal with reported assaults on the speedway grounds.

Contract Extension

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone City Council has received a formal request to extend the contract with H&W Contracting for sanitary sewer rehabilitation work in the city. The Council has been very critical of the work begin done by H&W and had raised concerns about the company's ability to complete the first part of the third phase of the sewer project. The extension is being sought under a portion of the contract that deals with precipitation during construction. Over the months of June, July and August, the Boone Water Pollution Control Plant recorded just under 28-inches of rainfall.

Meetings Moved

BOONE, Iowa---The extended Labor Day Holiday Weekend has led to the rescheduling of both the Boone and Madrid City Council meetings. Both meetings have been rescheduled for Tuesday. Madrid City Council meets at 5:30 at the Madrid City Hall and the Boone City Council will be meeting at 7:00 Tuesday evening at the Boone City Hall.

Pilot Identified

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr has released the name of the pilot who died as a result of a plane crash in Boone County Thursday morning. Fehr says 24-year old Adam J. Danhauer of Whitehouse, Ohio died as a result of the accident. Danhauer had taken off from the Boone Municipal Airport, towing an advertising banner for Farm Progress Show vendor. He was unable to gain altitude and crashed in a cornfield north of the Farm Progress Show site. The accident investigation is now in the hands of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Labor Day Weekend Events

UNDATED, Iowa---The Labor Day weekend features two long time family fun events, the Madrid Labor Day Celebration on the Dayton Labor Day Rodeo. Both have activities beginning Friday afternoon and evening. Excellent weather conditions over the weekend should help bring out families and friends. Both celebrations will feature Labor Day Parades, Monday at 10:00 AM.

Weather Dampens Farm Progress Show

BOONE, Iowa---The 2010 Farm Progress Show wrapped up Thursday, amid light showers as a cold front began pushing through central Iowa. The final day always sees reduced attendance and this year was no different. The bigger set back was Wednesday, following a 4-inch down power over night. Attendance was fairly good, but many had to deal with wet parking lots. Still officials felt good about what they were able to handle on the permanent site. The Farm Progress Show heads back to Decatur, Illinois in 2011.

Plane Crash

BOONE, Iowa---One person has reportedly been killed as a result of the crash of a small plane near the Farm Progress Show site in Boone County. The plane was towing a promotional banner when the crash occurred. Boone County authorities quickly notified the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct the investigation. Officials at the Boone Municipal Airport report that the pilot was not local, but had little additional information.