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Iowa County
Boone County, Iowa
Kate Shelley's heroic railroad bridge crossing and the scenic Des Moines River valley - from Kate Shelley's 1881 heroism (the 15-year-old Irish immigrant girl who crawled across a damaged railroad bridge during a raging storm on the night of July 6, 1881 to warn an approaching passenger train of washed-out tracks ahead - her courageous act saved dozens of lives and made her a national hero, celebrated in newspapers, songs, and a Congressional gold medal - the Kate Shelley High Bridge near Boone commemorates her crossing) to the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad (the excursion railroad over the Kate Shelley High Bridge providing dramatic views of the Des Moines River valley below).
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Boone County Emergency Management – 909 W. Mamie Eisenhower Avenue, Boone, IA 50036 | (515) 433-0592. Boone County Search & Rescue operates as an all-volunteer division of the Sheriff’s Office (founded in the 1960s as Civil Defense), providing water rescue, ground search, and rope rescue capability.
Roads: US-30 and IA-17 serve Boone, the county seat, in central Iowa. The main east-west street through Boone (formerly Fourth Street) is now named Mamie Eisenhower Avenue.
Notes: Boone County was formed in 1846.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Boone County Courthouse – 201 State Street, Boone, IA.
Notes: Boone is genuinely notable as the birthplace of Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady from 1953 to 1961. Born November 14, 1896, in a house built in the 1880s, Mamie was the second of four daughters of meatpacking-plant manager John Sheldon Doud and Elivera Mathilde Carlson; the family moved to Denver while she was still young, though she maintained close ties to Boone and her mother’s Carlson family throughout her life, with her last visit coming just two years before her death in 1979. Her birthplace was dedicated as a historic site on June 22, 1980 – one of only two First Lady birthplaces so designated, alongside Abigail Adams’s Massachusetts home. Restored and relocated slightly (to 709 Carroll Street) in 1975 under the direction of noted Iowa preservation architect William J. Wagner, the house now operates as a museum, open for tours June through October, containing loaned original bedroom furniture from the Doud family plus donated heirlooms including a chair, Bible, piano, and settee. Notably, Mamie was only the second First Lady born west of the Mississippi River – the first, also an Iowan, was Lou Henry Hoover, born in Waterloo (Black Hawk County) in 1874.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Boone County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via boonecounty.iowa.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Ericson Public Library (Boone) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace, Boone History Center, Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad, Kate Shelley High Bridge, Ledges State Park, and Iowa Arboretum & Gardens are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine, rare distinction of housing one of only two First Lady birthplaces designated as a historic site is among the most notable presidential-history facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Boone County Assessor’s Office / GIS – confirm current contact via boonecounty.iowa.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Boone Area Humane Society – 228 W. 16th Street, Boone, IA 50036 | (515) 432-6112 | Email: [email protected]. No-kill shelter operating since 1977, serving Boone, Ogden, Madrid, Luther, Pilot Mound, Boxholm, and unincorporated Boone County.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Boone County Landfill & Recycling – confirm current contact via boonecounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Boone County is the eighth county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, rare distinction of housing one of only two First Lady birthplaces designated as a historic site is among the most notable presidential-history facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Boone County
Boone County is central Iowa’s Kate Shelley hero and scenic railroad county – the 15-year-old who saved a passenger train in an 1881 storm is one of Iowa’s most celebrated historical figures, and the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad crosses the spectacular Des Moines River valley.
Boone (the county seat, population ~12,000) is also the birthplace of Mamie Doud Eisenhower – First Lady and wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower – whose birthplace museum is a Boone heritage destination.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Boone County Assessor at 201 State Street, Boone, IA 50036, phone 515-433-0508. IA assessed at 100% market value with residential rollback.
Courts & Legal
Boone County District Court at 201 State Street, Boone, IA 50036, phone 515-433-0561, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
201 State St., Boone, IA 50036
(515) 433-0561
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Boone County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Mamie Doud Eisenhower Birthplace in Boone and the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad are significant local historical landmarks.
Local societies
No dedicated Boone County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Boone County District Court, 2nd Judicial District 201 State Street, Boone, IA 50036 (515) 433-0561
Boone County is the birthplace of Mamie Doud Eisenhower (wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower); the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, a heritage steam railroad, operates in the county.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Boone County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
910 18th St., Boone, IA 50036
(515) 433-0520
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
201 State St., Boone, IA 50036
(515) 433-0502
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
201 State St., Boone, IA 50036
(515) 433-0502
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Boone County Health Dept
(515) 433-0578
Iowa DHHS — Region 2
(800) 338-8366
Iowa Medicaid
(800) 338-8366
Boone County Hospital
boonehospital.com (Boone — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Boone County Health & Sanitation – confirm current contact via boonecounty.iowa.gov.
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