IOWA – The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service obligated a record $112.1 million in conservation practice funding to Iowa farmers in fiscal year 2024. The distributions were made through nearly 2,000 conservation program contracts that will help treat natural resource concerns such as soil erosion and water quality on nearly 400,000 acres. Iowa USDA staff obligated about 42 percent, or $47.2 million, of the FY24 conservation funding through the Inflation Reduction Act and the other 58 percent through the 2018 Farm Bill.

IOWA COUNTY – One person died in a Wednesday afternoon crash in Marengo. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Ford Escape operated by 52-year-old William F. Myers crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic and collided with a cattle truck and trailer operated by Russell Trimble. Myers was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the head on crash, and died from his injuries.

DES MOINES – A Des Moines woman was recently sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distribution of a pill containing fentanyl that resulted in a victim’s death. According to court documents, Nevaeh Simone Botts sold pills containing fentanyl to a 16-year-old, who subsequently overdosed and died. Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States, and fatalities related to the drug in youth ages 15 to 24 more than doubled between 2018 and 2022.