LIVE — Boone County, Iowa  · 

Boone County Iowa
Police, Fire & EMS Scanner — Live

Listen live to Boone County public safety radio — the Sheriff, county fire, and EMS across Boone, Madrid, Ogden and the rest of the county. Streamed 24/7. Free, no app to install, no ads.

Stream audio is typically 30–60 seconds behind real time — normal for internet streaming. Not suitable for emergency response. If you need emergency services, call 911. Best results with Chrome, Edge, or Safari.

The system, and why this is different

Boone County public safety runs on the Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS) — a P25 Phase II trunked radio network, monitored here from the Woodward/Ames Simulcast site. A conventional analog scanner can't follow a trunked system — agencies don't sit on a fixed frequency; the network assigns channels dynamically and organizes traffic into talkgroups. NCISS decodes the trunk and streams the talkgroups as plain audio in your browser.

What sets this apart from other ways to listen to Boone County:

Free, with no catch

No ads, no pre-roll, no paywall. Talkgroup names are visible to everyone, not locked behind a subscription.

Nothing to install

Plays in any browser on any device. No account required to listen.

The whole picture

Boone County encrypts a lot of its system. We show the full list — what's clear and what's sealed — instead of quietly leaving out what can't be carried.

Monitored locally

Operated by a licensed Iowa ham radio operator in the coverage region, actively listening so the talkgroups stay accurate.


Coverage across Boone County

The Boone County Sheriff dispatches law enforcement, fire, and EMS for communities throughout the county on the main dispatch channel carried here — including Boone, Madrid, Ogden, Luther, Pilot Mound, and the rural areas in between. The county's fire departments dispatch on the fire channels carried on this stream as well.

Boone — the county seat, and home to Ledges State Park and the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad — generates much of the county's public safety traffic. One stream covers the city and the surrounding county together.


Boone County talkgroups

The Boone County stream carries the talkgroups below. Green rows are actively streamed.

Law Enforcement on 08ps
18501Boone County Law 1 (main dispatch)LIVE
Encrypted — not carried: Boone County Law 2, the tactical incident channels, and the Jail channel are encrypted on this system and cannot be decoded or streamed by anyone. Law 1, the primary dispatch, is in the clear and is carried here.
Fire & EMS on 08ps
18506Boone County Fire/EMS DispatchLIVE
18526Boone County Fire F-TAC 8LIVE
18527Boone County Fire F-TAC 9LIVE

Full Boone County talkgroup list, including monitored-but-not-streamed and encrypted channels, is on the Signals page.


Boone County scanner FAQ

Is the Boone County scanner free?

Yes. Every NCISS stream is free — no ads, no pre-roll, no paywall. Open the stream and you're listening.

Do I need an app?

No. The stream plays directly in your browser. If you'd rather use a scanner app, any app that supports Icecast or HTTP audio can connect to the same stream URL.

Which communities does it cover?

The Boone County Sheriff dispatches law, fire, and EMS countywide on the channels carried here — covering Boone, Madrid, Ogden, Luther, Pilot Mound, and the rural areas. The county fire departments are on the fire channels carried on this stream.

Are any Boone County channels encrypted?

Yes — Boone encrypts a significant part of its system. Law 1 (main dispatch) and the county fire/EMS channels are clear and carried here, but Law 2, the tactical incident channels, and the Jail channel are encrypted and can't be carried by anyone. We show the full system rather than hiding what can't be decoded. Boone encrypts noticeably more of its system than the neighboring counties NCISS monitors — places like Greene, Guthrie, and Webster keep the majority of their channels in the clear. That's a choice each agency makes; we simply show you what's open and what isn't, for every county we cover.

Why does it sound different from an old scanner?

Boone County runs on the ISICS P25 Phase II trunked network, not conventional VHF. A standard analog scanner can't follow trunked talkgroups. NCISS decodes the P25 system directly and streams it in plain audio.

How current is the audio?

The stream runs 24/7 and is typically 30–60 seconds behind real time, normal for internet streaming. Not suitable for emergency response. If you need emergency services, call 911.


LEGAL NOTICE: NCISS is an independent, receive-only monitoring operation and is not affiliated with Boone County, the City of Boone, Iowa DPS, or the ISICS system. Monitoring of unencrypted public safety frequencies is lawful for hobbyist use. All monitoring is passive — no transmitting occurs. Encrypted talkgroups are not decoded.