Boone & Surrounding Counties Archive

10/21/2026

Story County Board of Supervisors, October 20, 2026

The Board heard three housing requests. The first was a five-unit rental redevelopment on Main Street in Colo. The second was help of up to $50,000 per buyer for new homes in Colo's Lounsbury Addition. The third would buy and clear a run-down house so a Homes for Iowa house can go on the lot. The minutes, claims and consent agenda were approved, and HR gave its first quarterly report. The Interagency Coordinating Council asked to serve as the county's homelessness task force. That was discussion only, so no action was taken, and the Board wants to coordinate with the City of Ames first.

0:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance
0:30 Agenda adopted
0:43 Public comment
1:09 Colo rental housing project (Contigo LLC)
2:55 Board questions on the Colo rental project
5:15 Colo homebuyer assistance (Lounsbury Addition)
11:57 Board questions: sewer, land transfer, number of lots
16:23 Derelict house and Homes for Iowa project
19:00 Board questions on the Homes for Iowa project
21:22 Minutes approved
21:41 Claims approved
21:53 Consent agenda approved
22:10 HR quarterly report
29:11 Board questions on staff turnover
31:11 Homelessness task force request
32:57 Ames Warming Place and peer-to-peer program
34:43 Board questions: membership, Iowa State, other cities
40:41 Homeless outreach team
45:05 Coordinating with Ames, no action taken
47:57 Upcoming agenda items
48:04 Public comment
48:37 Supervisor schedules and announcements
52:10 Adjourned

10/21/2026

Story County Board of Supervisors, October 13, 2026

The Board approved the agenda, minutes, personnel actions and consent agenda. The FY27 first-quarter report shows spending on track at about 20% of the year. The Board also went over the ARPA closeout timeline and the roughly $41,000 that may be left over. Leanne Harder reviewed new urban renewal housing applications from Colo, Roland and Story City. The consultation meeting is October 27 at 9 a.m., and adoption is planned for November 17. During public comment, the Auditor's office said early voting for the November 3 election starts October 14.

0:00 Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance
0:38 Agenda adopted
0:50 Public comment
1:22 Minutes approved
1:44 Personnel actions approved
1:56 Consent agenda approved
2:17 No hearings or department reports
2:27 FY27 quarterly financial report
3:59 ARPA closeout timeline and leftover funds
7:43 Board thanks staff for ARPA work
9:22 Balanced budget and fund balance questions
11:13 Urban renewal plan amendments and new housing applications
14:47 Timeline: Oct 27 consultation, Nov 17 adoption
16:42 Question on mailing costs
17:31 Manufactured home repair program expansion
18:51 Upcoming agenda items
19:00 Public comment: early voting starts Oct 14
20:24 Supervisor schedules and announcements
23:13 Adjourned

10/21/2026

Boone County Board of Supervisors, October 21, 2026

The Board approved the agenda and the consent agenda, with a correction to the claims, and took public comment. Board members gave their reports. Ruby Dominic of Region XII then walked through the updated Boone County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The landfill update covered the extension J.B. Holland asked for on the leachate force main, plugging the cell 9 lagoon pipe, the sediment pond pipe, leachate hauling costs (3.4 million gallons so far this year), equipment needs, and when to hold the free yard waste days. The FY2027 animal control contract was tabled to next week.

0:07 Pledge of Allegiance
0:36 Call to order and agenda approved
1:03 Consent agenda approved
2:14 Public comment and mail items
3:03 Board member reports
3:56 LightEdge co-location center open house
5:28 Kossuth County, Madison County and other updates
7:17 Public comment (in person and on Zoom)
7:47 Hazard Mitigation Plan review with Region XII
10:51 County profile
14:00 Floodplain administrator
15:10 Critical facilities
23:14 Vulnerability assessment and repetitive-loss properties
27:08 Property valuations and hazard impact levels
30:40 Past mitigation actions and action plan
33:16 Plan monitoring and emergency management reports
35:30 Plan wrap-up
37:26 Landfill update
38:49 Request for more time on the leachate force main
45:08 Cell 9 lagoon and plan to plug the pipe
52:20 Sediment pond pipe repair
54:44 Leachate hauling costs
58:25 Excavator and equipment budget
1:03:40 Old haul truck: scrap or sell
1:07:26 Free yard waste days
1:17:43 FY2027 animal control contract tabled
1:19:20 Adjourned

10/21/2026

Boone County's free yard waste days run Thursday through Saturday, and you can drop off any day but Sunday. The Board talked about moving the six-week window later to match when the leaves fall, but it won't change this year.

10/21/2026

Boone County Supervisors heard a recap of the LightEdge co-location center open house. It was a come-and-go event with booths explaining what the proposed facility would mean for Boone, including noise and power use.

10/14/2026

During board reports, members float advertising future public hearings without a set time so the board doesn't have to wait, talk about possibly bidding out a county-wide compensation study (estimated at $30,000 to $40,000), and compare how other counties run things.

10/14/2026

Boone County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday, October 14, 2026

The board opens with the Pledge of Allegiance, then approves the agenda and the consent agenda. No one gives public comment. Steve Fannis (spelling unconfirmed) is appointed to fill a vacant Planning and Zoning Commission seat, with the term ending December 31, 2026. The board acknowledges the estimated worksheet for a TIF rebate to be paid in fiscal year 2028. The worksheet shows about $21 million in incremental value and an estimated rebate of $327,433.44. During board reports, members float advertising future public hearings without a set time so the board doesn't have to wait, talk about possibly bidding out a county-wide compensation study (estimated at $30,000 to $40,000), and compare how other counties run things. After a recess, the board holds the public hearing on Ordinance 174-2026, which requires active radon mitigation systems in new homes in unincorporated Boone County. No one spoke for or against it. The board waives the third reading, adopts the ordinance, and adjourns.

0:14 Pledge of Allegiance and call to order
0:46 Agenda and consent agenda approved
1:47 Appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission (passes at 2:54)
3:01 TIF rebate worksheet, estimated $327,433.44 rebate for FY2028 (passes at 6:14)
6:33 Idea to advertise future public hearings without a fixed time
9:02 Employee requests for pay adjustments discussed
9:34 Possible county-wide compensation study, estimated $30,000 to $40,000
13:28 Board small talk: running unopposed, campaign signs, newspaper photo (to 14:12)
15:12 Back from recess (silent part of recess removed)
15:34 Public hearing opens on Ordinance 174-2026 (active radon mitigation)
18:40 Plain explanation of the radon ordinance: a fan-driven system in new homes to help lower radon-related cancer risk
19:27 Radon ordinance adopted with the third reading waived
19:53 Adjourned

10/12/2026

Ever wonder why we keep electing people who promise the world but deliver nothing? 🤔

It turns out, there's a terrifying psychological reason for it—and a Greek philosopher predicted the exact problem 2,400 years ago.

In 2005, Princeton researchers ran a wild experiment. They showed people photos of foreign politicians for exactly one second and asked them to guess who won their elections. People guessed right 70% of the time based on nothing but jawlines and facial features.
Even crazier? They ran a similar test with 5-to-13-year-olds. The kids predicted election winners at the exact same rate as the adults. Let that sink in: we are choosing people who control economies and nuclear weapons using the same instant visual judgment a kindergartener uses to pick who looks "friendlier"! 🤯

Plato warned us about this fatal flaw in democracy over two millennia ago using a metaphor called the "Ship of Fools." ⛵️

Imagine you're on a ship and the crew is voting on a captain:

👤 Candidate A is an amateur. He doesn't know much about the sea, so he's overly confident. He promises calm waters, quick travel, and easy riches.

👤 Candidate B is an expert navigator. He knows the ocean is dangerous, so he sounds cautious. He talks about storms, backup plans, and difficult routes.
Who does the crew vote for? The confident amateur. Why? Because confidence feels better than competence. They confuse a good speech with good seamanship.
We do the same thing today. Democracy naturally rewards people who are absolute masters at campaigning (public speaking, charisma, looking good on TV) but often elevates people who are incompetent at actually governing (understanding complex economics, foreign policy, and making tough trade-offs).

Modern psychology perfectly explains why we fall for it every time:

🧠 The Dunning-Kruger Effect: The people with the least expertise are often the most confident because they don't know enough to realize how complex the problems are.

🧠 System 1 vs. System 2 Brain: We prefer a politician who gives us a fast, emotional, and simple story over an expert who tries to explain a complex, messy, but accurate reality.

Plato warned that by continually choosing charisma over expertise, democracies eventually exhaust themselves. Voters get so tired of the chaos caused by confident amateurs that they willingly hand over power to a strongman just to restore order.
Are we permanently stuck in this trap? Can we train ourselves to vote for the cautious expert over the loud, confident amateur?

(Highly recommend checking out the fascinating video breakdown that inspired this post: https://youtu.be/3gPhzTkh3F0)

Plato watched democracy destroy Athens by rewarding charisma over c...

10/12/2026

Boone City Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting Summary & Timeline (October 12, 2026)

00:00:00 - Call to Order / Meeting Setup
00:00:17 - Approval of Minutes (June 8, 2026 Meeting)
00:00:37 - Introduction of New Board Member (David Verde - absent due to travel)
00:01:03 - Election of Interim Chair (Motion passed to table until next full meeting)
00:02:26 - Review & Discussion of Site Plan: Ed Boom LLC / Light Edge Data Center
00:02:39 - Overview of P&Z Authority, Scope, and Public Comment Guidelines
00:03:09 - Data Center Concept Discussion: Colocation vs. Hyperscale/AI Facilities
00:07:25 - Local Tax & Economic Impact ($1M+ annual tax benefit across City, County, Schools, and Hospital)
00:13:28 - Developer Presentation by Mike Daniels (Light Edge Vice President of Development)
00:19:48 - Staff Review & Engineering Compliance Confirmation
00:27:53 - Board Vote & Unanimous Approval of Site Plan
00:28:13 - Staff Comments & Future Meeting Schedule
00:28:40 - Meeting Adjourned

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Key Agenda Highlights:
- Approval of June 8, 2026 meeting minutes.
- Acknowledgement of new commission member David Verde.
- Discussion on Interim Chair election (tabled to next full meeting).
- Detailed presentation, review, and unanimous approval of the commercial site plan for Ed Boom LLC (Light Edge Colocation Data Center) in the Boone Business Park. Discussion highlighted local tax benefits exceeding $1 million annually without requested city incentives, water recycling safeguards, noise/decibel mitigation, and zero utility infrastructure cost to the city.

10/07/2026

Boone County Supervisors meeting from October 7, 2026. The meeting reconvenes from an initial closed session. The agenda features an introduction of a new applicant for the Planning & Zoning Commission and a public hearing regarding Ordinance 174-2026 for radon mitigation systems in new residential construction.

00:00:00 - Reconvene from Closed Session / Agenda Layout Discussion
00:01:18 - Planning & Zoning Commission Applicant Introduction (Steve Thomas)
00:21:22 - Public Hearing: Ordinance 174-2026 (Radon Mitigation Systems in New Residential Construction)
00:27:16 - Meeting Adjourned