Homers: What's going right

GAZETTE EDITORIAL BOARD

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DARLING PROJECT: Lake Darling State Park has new life after a $16 million renovation, with a new dam set to refill the lake that has been dry since it was drained in 2008 because it was leaking. The park has been extensively upgraded. Even more important, numerous runoff and erosion control measures have been installed, with more than 80 percent of landowners in the watershed building ponds, terraces and other conservation structures. Friends of Lake Darling volunteers raised money and helped persuade the Iowa DNR to refurbish the

1,400-acre park.

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ON THE SAME CALL: All law enforcement agencies in Linn County easily can talk with each other via a countywide digital radio system. The new system also enhances communication with Johnson County, which uses the same radio system. Linn County, Cedar Rapids and Marion shared the $19.2 million cost.

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MIRACULOUS OUTCOME: A 6-day-old baby boy was found alive and in good condition after spending nearly 29 hours wrapped in blankets in a crate outside a gas station in West Branch during below-zero temperatures. The infant apparently was kidnapped from his Beloit, Wis., home on Feb. 6, and an aunt is a suspect.

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GENEROUS: 72 eighth-graders in Tipton Middle School will get a scholarship of up to $10,000 if they graduate from Tipton High School, thanks to donors Sandy and Kevin Gleaves.