Iowa

Experts detail environmental impact of fertilizer spill in southwest Iowa

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

Experts detail environmental impact of fertilizer spill in southwest Iowa

RED OAK, Iowa. (WOWT) – Water is one of the necessities of life.

“Everybody wants good water quality. We all have to drink water. We all recreate in water,” said John Lorenzen, a biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Lorenzen and his fellow DNR experts are still examining the environmental impacts of a massive 1,500-ton liquid nitrogen fertilizer spill near Red Oak, Iowa caused by a New Cooperative valve that was left open last Monday.

They know liquid nitrogen fertilizer traveled along the East Nishnabotna River in Iowa for 50 miles down to the state of Missouri where it’s estimated to have traveled at least another 10 miles.

“(It’s) probably the longest fishkill that we’ve experienced in this area,” said Brent Marten, an environmental specialist for the Iowa DNR.

As the fertilizer plume swept through the water, the home of aquatic wildlife soon became their grave. Native species of varying sizes were found dead ashore and floating in the water.

“Just acute toxicity basically burned tissue on the outside and if they ingested it, on the inside of the fish,” said Lorenzen.

Water testing showed that where the spill happened, nitrogen levels were at least 60 times higher than they should’ve been.

After surveying from Red Oak to Hamburg on the Iowa-Missouri border, surveyors told 6 News they didn’t see any live fish with one exception: “We saw a handful of grass carp at the Hamburg bridge that were in the process of dying,” said Lorenzen. “Fortunately, this did not happen a month or so from now.”

That’s because larger species, like catfish, are still in the Missouri River for the cold season. If it were warmer, they too could’ve been killed. Lorenzen is hopeful that the native species will rebound. Those that found refuge in tributaries should spawn and restock the river. It’s still unknown how long that will take.

“On a short time frame, a year,” said Lorenzen. “On a longer time frame, it may take a bit longer. It’s really hard to say.”

Lorenzen explained this may have an impact on the larger fish in the upcoming season. With many of the smaller, native fish of the East Nishnabotna River dead, the food chain may be impacted.

Now, Martens is doing follow-up testing for the water. In Red Oak, the nitrogen levels are back to what they would’ve been before the spill. He said it’s likely once the plume hits the Missouri River it would dilute and dissolve.

The field specialists’ reports will go to the legal division of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. From there they’ll determine the next steps and possible fines.

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Iowa

Check the Powerball numbers. 28,000 Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes.

Published

11 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Check the Powerball numbers. 28,000 Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes.

The Powerball Jackpot keeps getting bigger. No one was the winner on Wednesday, Dec. 17, which means $1.5 billion is now up for grabs.

This is now the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.

How many Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes in latest Powerball drawing?

Iowa Lottery players won 28,677 prizes in Wednesday’s drawing, and this time, no one got close to winning the grand prize. Prizes ranged from $4 to $400.

What were the winning Powerball numbers in Wednesday’s drawing?

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing were 25-33-53-62-66 and Powerball 17. The Power Playmultiplier was 4.

When is the next Powerball drawing?

The next Powerball drawing will be on Saturday, Dec. 20. The game has drawings on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays each week.

The Powerball jackpot has been growing since early September, and Saturday’s drawing will mark the 45th in the current jackpot run, a record for most drawings in a single jackpot cycle, according to the news release.

How many Iowa Lottery Powerball tickets were sold?

Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $1.75 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including $1.24 million in tickets on Wednesday alone. But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for Wednesday’s drawing remained around $6, or about three plays per ticket.

Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.

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Iowa

Arizona baseball to hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach

Published

23 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Arizona baseball to hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach

Arizona got caught up in the swirl of college baseball coaches leaving for professional jobs this offseason, losing pitching coach John DeRouin to a coordinator position with the New York Mets organization. But the Wildcats didn’t take long finding a replacement, one with a strong pedigree in the collegiate ranks.

Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com is reporting the UA will hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach. Kenny will techincally be Arizona’s fourth pitching coach in five seasons under Chip Hale, though DeRouin only served in that role during the offseason following Kevin Vance’s departure in June to become San Diego State’s head coach.

Kenny, 53, spent the 2025 season at Iowa where his staff ranked 16^th in the country in ERA and 11^th in strikeouts per nine innings. The Hawkeyes went 33-22-1 but missed the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to Iowa, Kenny spent the 2023 season at Iowa and before that was at Georgia from 2018-23. He’s also coached at Michigan, Maryland, Pepperdine and San Diego. The 2026 season will be his 30^th in college baseball.

Arizona, which is coming off a trip to the College World Series, returns weekend starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey and NCBWA Stopper of the Year Tony Pluta among several other pitchers from the team that went 44-21.

The UA opens the 2026 season on Feb. 13 in Surprise against former Pac-12 foe Stanford, part of a tournament that also includes Oregon State and Michigan. The home opener is Feb. 17 vs. Omaha at Hi Corbett Field.

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Iowa

Watch live as bodies of Iowa National Guard soldiers return to US

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Watch live as bodies of Iowa National Guard soldiers return to US

President Donald Trump, Gov. Kim Reynolds, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation and families are receiving the bodies of fallen Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, and Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines and a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Michigan.

The dignified transfer ceremony is expected to happen this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

All three were killed Saturday, Dec. 13, by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria, before being shot dead.

Their caskets will be transferred from the plane to an awaiting vehicle and taken to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations building at the Dover base “for positive identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for their final resting place.”

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