KWBG News Headlines

Death Under Investigation

2012-02-01T15:59:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone Police Department and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation are investigating the death of a Boone woman. Boone Police responded to a 911 call about an unresponsive female about 8:00 Sunday evening. Responding officers found 32 year old Emily Fazzino unresponsive. She was transported to the Boone County Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Monday, an autopsy was conducted by the State Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny. The results of the autopsy are pending laboratory results which may take four to six weeks. The death remains under investigation.

Authorities Arrest More Than 60 At Party

2012-02-01T15:52:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Deputies from the Boone County Sheriff's Department, with assistance from Ames Police, raided an underage party late Friday night in southeast Boone County. Over 60-people were cited with underage possession of alcohol. 19 year old Eric Longnecker of Cambridge, 18 year old Joseph Crawford of Cambridge and 18 year old Jordan Balbiani of Madrid were taken into custody on the Social Hosting Ordinance. It marks the first time since the ordinance was adopted that someone was actually charged for violating the ordinance.

MICA Fund Raiser to Support Living With HIV Program

2012-02-01T15:36:00.000-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Mid-Iowa Community Action provides a number of services to Boone County residents including those suffering from HIV and AIDS. Janelle Durlin is one of the Health Directors with MICA and she says the organization is hosting a fund raiser, February 9th to provide additional support for the Living with HIV Program. The Love Responsibly Silent Auction and Variety Show will be held at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 1015 N. Hyland Avenue, Ames, Iowa. Durlin says MICA works with more than a dozen HIV and AIDS patients in Boone County.

Supervisors Collect Additional Budget Information

2012-01-31T16:16:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Board of Supervisors have continued to collect budget requests for the new fiscal year, and are expected to get a couple more this week, including one of the bigger portions of the overall county budget. John Grush, the Boone County Central Point of Contact will present the Fiscal Year 13 funding requests for DCAT, Drug Free Communities, Case Management, Social Services and Mental Health. The biggest portions of the county budget are Public Safety, Secondary Roads and Mental Health.

Commission Recommends Rezoning

2012-01-31T15:38:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Zoning Commission has recommended that the Boone County Board of Supervisors proceed with rezoning two parcels of property in Boone County. Winfield Solutions is located in Jackson Township, right east of Boone. The recommended change is rezone the property A-2 for an Ag Business. Winfield does seed research. The second recommendation is south of Boone on Oriole Road. Harold Shearer wants to sell a small piece of property to be used for the construction of a house. The property is located in an area that has seen residential development.

Harkin Visits Boone County Democrats

2012-01-30T15:16:00.003-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Iowa Senator Tom Harkin paid a visit to Boone County Democrats Saturday afternoon, for a Meet and Greet at the Boone County Historical Center. Harkin said he senses building excitement for the 2012 elections. He told those gathered that the President is re-energized as seen in the State of the Union address and the recent visit to Iowa. Harkin said he also feels good about Christie Vilsack's campaign for the new 4th District in Iowa.

Examining Board to Meet

2012-01-30T15:10:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Examining Board will meet Tuesday to begin the process of finding a new assessor for Boone County. By law, the Examining Board requests the certified list of candidates from the Iowa Department of Revenue. The Board can than either begin to review the list or turn the list over to the Assessor's Conference Board. When Kathy Anderson was retiring as Assessor a couple of years ago, the Examining Board turned the list over to the Conference Board and they conducted the search for the Assessor. Those appointed to the Examining Board in 2009 were Holly Larson, Keith Vest and Luke Nelson. Their meeting will be a noon at the Courthouse.

County Zoning Commission to Meet

2012-01-30T15:04:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---It's been a couple of months since the Boone County Zoning Commission last met. The Commission does have a couple of petitions to rezone some property. One for Winfield Solutions, to change the zoning on their property east of Boone to better accommodate their existing agricultural seed research business. The other from Harold Shearer to rezone a small piece of property south of Boone from agricultural to residential. The Zoning Commission meets at 7:00 at the Boone County Courthouse.

Rescued Dogs Attract Attention

2012-01-27T16:21:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone Area Humane Society, one of five agencies working with Sac County authorities on a puppy mill case, has seen a strong response from the community. Heidi Drees White, Executive Director for the Humane Society in Boone says people have helped with some supplies, food and cash donations, but more will be needed. She says it's possible the dogs may be housed for several weeks while the Sac County case proceeds.

Hospital Board Accepts Audit Report

2012-01-27T16:13:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Some of the numbers were not quite as good as had been hoped, but the Boone County Hospital Board of Trustees did accept the annual audit report Thursday. Kevin Morey with BKD CPA's and Advisors from Kansas City noted a couple of compliance issues, one for a wrong rate on a mileage reimbursement and a delay in the filing of certification for self funded health insurance. Both have since been corrected. Morey also cautioned the Board to monitor a couple of line items, especially accounts receivable.

Baltimore Watches Mental Health Legislation

2012-01-27T15:42:00.003-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---State Representative Chip Baltimore, Boone Republican, has been watching closely the development of legislation that will strive to improve mental health services in Iowa. Baltimore has said before that a problem is lack of consistency between counties. The legislation in the works would create a regional approach and would also include some additional funding from the state. In Boone County, mental health services uses a very large portion of the property tax asking.

BAHS Assists With Dog Rescues

2012-01-26T15:13:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---21 or the 88 dogs rescued from a Sac County farm Wednesday are currently housed at the Boone Area Humane Society. Heidi Drees-White, Executive Director for the Boone Area Humane Society says the dogs were mostly Cocker Spaniels and Japanese Chins and were living in deplorable conditions. She says volunteers joined the staff and began grooming dogs Thursday. All the dogs were being examined and treated by veterinarians. Drees-White says the Boone Shelter is in need of dry dog food and puppy food, puppy pads and monetary contributions to help cover the veterinary costs.

County Foundation Applications Due February 10th

2012-01-26T15:08:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Endowment Fund has more than $88,000 to distribute to qualifying agencies and organizations in Boone County. The deadline for the grant applications for 2012 is February 10th. The Boone County Endowment Fund was established to distribute the funds that would foster philanthropy throughout the county. To find out if an agency, organization or project qualifies, information is available online here.

DCAT Discussions

2012-01-26T14:57:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Boone County has recently joined with Story County to provide early childhood services to clients of both counties. Previously both with served with their own Empowerment Boards. Another area of service is called DCAT, which focuses on child welfare and juvenile justice funding. Boone County has been sharing the position with Dallas County, but recent state action is now pushing Boone County toward Story County. Representatives of County Community Services told the Board of Supervisors this week that discussions will be held to determine if any changes in structure should be considered.

Landfill Equipment Purchase

2012-01-25T15:35:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Board of Supervisors have moved ahead with a plan to purchase a new piece of equipment for the Boone County Landfill. The Board officially approved the purchase of the KompTech grinder during their meeting Wednesday, contingent on obtaining financing. The purchase is being made through an Open Municipal Lease proposal. In all the cost, with interest could be about $850,000. The grinder will extend the life of the current landfill and will offer additional alternatives for waste disposal.

Hollingshead Announces Candidacy

2012-01-25T15:18:00.000-06:00

OGDEN, Iowa---Ogden native Chet Hollingshead has officially announced that he is running for Boone County Supervisor. Hollingshead will be on the Republican Primary ballot on June 5th. In a statement, Hollingshead said "Boone County is facing many challenges and we need conservative leadership at the courthouse." Currently, Hollingshead is President of the Ogden School Board, first elected to the Board in 2009.

Baltimore Manages First Bill Through House

2012-01-25T15:11:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---State Representative Chip Baltimore, Republican of Boone, managed the first bill of the year through the Iowa House Wednesday. The bill received unanimous approval and puts into law Governor Terry Branstad's Executive Order that requires new rules to have a "Jobs Impact Statement". Baltimore says it means state agencies look into the impact of rules and regulations before they're implemented.

Supervisors to Consider Trail Agreement

2012-01-24T14:53:00.003-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Board of Supervisors will give consideration to an amendment to a Joint Public Service Agreement between Boone and Polk Counties, Conservation Boards from Boone, Polk, Dallas and Story Counties and the Cities of Ankeny, Madrid, Sheldahl, Slater and Woodward. The proposal would create a long term fund for future repairs on the High Trestle Trail. All entities would contribute to the fund. The Boone County Conservation Board was receptive to the proposal. Conservation Director Andy Hockenson will discuss the proposal with the Supervisors.

Applicants Still Sought for Citizen's Police Academy

2012-01-24T13:34:00.000-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone Police Department is once again planning their annual Citizen Police Academy. Boone Police Chief Bill Skare says the program will begin February 23rd and will last until April 12th. Skare says there's no cost, but it does require that anyone interested commit three hours each Thursday evening. Skare says the program has proven to be pretty popular and basically it exposes the public to the operating procedures of the department. Applications are available at various locations, including online.

"Y" Receives Monsanto Grant

2012-01-24T11:32:00.003-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Family YMCA has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Monsanto Fund to help cover the cost of renovating portions of the building. Last Thursday, Steve Morman, Boone Monsanto Operations Manager presented the larger than life check to Jerry Mackie a Boone County Family YMCA Board Member and Vicki Greco the Boone County Family YMCA Executive Director. The grant will help cover the cost of transitioning the wellness center and Child Watch program.

ACS Daffodil Days

2012-01-23T14:04:00.002-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---American Cancer Society volunteers have begun taking orders for the 2012 Boone County Daffodil Days. Those that place orders will be able to pickup their purchases at the First United Methodist Church in Boone on Wednesday, March 14th. Two years ago, Daffodil Days sponsors were sought and the number has grown to 14 this year. But, Mary Maybee says their goal is to get daffodils to everyone in the county on March 14th. She says orders for daffodils are being taken until mid-February.

Supervisor Continue Budget Work

2012-01-23T13:52:00.000-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---The Boone County Board of Supervisors will be meeting Tuesday in the board room at the Boone County Courthouse for a budget work session. The Board has been collecting budget requests from various agencies that receive service from the county, but major portions of the budget have yet to be presented. Public Safety, Secondary Roads and Mental Health are the three big portions of the overall county budget. Last week, Boone County Transportation submitted a budget request for $60,000. The amount is unchanged from a year ago. This year, Boone County Transportation is receiving over $54,000.

Three Killed in Two Vehicle Accident Near Rippey

2012-01-23T13:45:00.000-06:00

RIPPEY, Iowa---Three people were killed when two vehicles collided west of Rippey Sunday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol is conducting the investigation and reports that a car, operated by 42-year old David James Muir of Rippey went out of control and spun into a pickup driven by 54-year old Dwight Lee Snogren of Jamaica. Muir's passenger, 19-year old Andrew Gordon Jackson of Orient and the two drivers died as a result of the impact. The State Patrol has been unable to determine if weather was a contributing factor.

Public Debt Up $4.4 Million in Boone County

2012-01-20T15:24:00.000-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---Public debt in Boone County, as calculated by the State of Iowa, totalled $68.7 million in the fiscal year 2011, up from $64.2 million in the 2010 fiscal year. Public Debt for the City of Boone went up $2.4 million. The City of Ogden went up nearly $1 million. Both were financing mandated storm and sanitary sewer projects. The other notable increase was the Ogden School District which had completed a construction project. The current fiscal year has already seen a bond sale by the Boone School District with another expected in the next month.

New Historical Center Exhibit Opens Saturday

2012-01-20T15:04:00.001-06:00

BOONE, Iowa---"Kate Shelley: Boone County's Railroad Heroine" is the name of the new exhibit, opening Saturday at the Boone County Historical Center. Executive Director Charles Irwin says will not only provide new information about Kate Shelley, but will also expand information with Boone County's railroad history. Irwin says additional information is also made available about the major storm that struck Boone in July 1881 which triggered Shelley's act of heroism. The new display will be available for public viewing Saturday from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.