BOONE, Iowa—It took a little while for everything to come together, but this week, the Downtown Boone Mainstreet Committee recognized and dedicated the work done on the second phase of the downtown tree project. First there were trees planted about two years ago, before Boone was selected to be a Mainstreet Community. It was part of the effort of the Downtown Boone Committee to follow along with some of the recommendations received from the State’s Mainstreet staff. The second part was the plan to deal with the merchants concerns about mulch getting tracked into the stores. That led to Tree Grates. The design and construction of the grates was turned over the Jim Fitzgerald’s Boone High metal class. The school didn’t have equipment big enough to do the project, but LANE Trailer Manufacturing Company on Montana Road did and they allowed students to use their equipment to complete the project.

Holly Stecker recognized many that made the project possible including FFA Students who cleaned up to tree sites. Boone Public Works and Waylon Andrews for site prep and installation. Freedom Tree Care for expertise in selecting and caring for the new trees.