Iowa

Iowa Department of Agriculture hands out fund for lake watershed improvements

Published

5 months ago

August 6, 2025

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Iowa Department of Agriculture hands out fund for lake watershed improvements

Cami Koons
| Iowa Capital Dispatch

The Iowa Department of Agriculture has awarded more than $450,000 in cost share funding to nine conservation districts for water quality improvement projects.

The Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Districts will use the funding, announced Tuesday, Aug. 5, to help private landowners implement practices like planting cover crops, installing sediment control basins and grassed waterways that will improve water quality in eight publicly owned lakes.

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the water quality improvement efforts go toward “ensuring these lakes remain vibrant and healthy destinations.”

“We are fortunate to have some beautiful public lakes in our state that significantly enhance the quality of life for many Iowans and provide valuable recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat,” Naig said in a news release.

The announcement is part of the Publicly Owned Lakes program administered by the agriculture department and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. This round of funding is more than double what was allocated through the program in 2024.

Three Mile Lake had the highest allocation — more than $133,000 — to be managed by conservation districts in both Union and Adair counties. The lake has undergone restoration projects for the past several years.

The rest of the funding went to conservation districts monitoring the watersheds of Hawthorn, Pleasant and 12 Mile lakes and Lakes Miami, Icaria and Geode.

DNR Director Kayla Lyon said investing in public lakes is “always a sound decision.”

“These invaluable assets offer numerous recreational opportunities, improving the well-being of countless Iowans,” Lyon said in a statement. “They also are vital economic drivers and strengthen community ties. These efforts, strengthened by the crucial cooperation of landowners within the watershed, are fundamental to ensuring these important resources remain healthy and accessible.”

Funding for the program comes from the agriculture department’s soil conservation cost-share budget and the DNR chooses the watersheds based on priority. Landowners in the selected districts are then eligible for additional cost-share funding for water improvement projects.

Many of the water quality improvement strategies surrounding Iowa lakes are dependent on voluntary participation by private landowners in the watersheds.

Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

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Iowa

Pat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star

Published

4 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star

Audi Crooks and Iowa State women’s basketball are officially sweeping the nation.

On Tuesday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN, the Cyclones’ star and NCAA women’s basketball scoring leader garnered significant praise from the former-NFL-punter-turned-media-personality.

“I’m a huge fan of the way she operates. Huge fan,” McAfee said. “She just gets buckets. That’s literally all she does.

“Did I know anything about Iowa State’s women’s basketball team ever? Nope. But Audi Crooks highlights pop up on my (algorithm), and I say, ‘Boys, immediately, I’m making a song, we’re making a highlight,’ because people are trying to take shots at Audi right now.”

The song and video McAfee referenced was posted on his social media and played on his show before his monologue about Crooks. It features a stylish edit of Crooks points accompanied by what appears to be an AI-generated song with the chorus of, “You’re about to get cooked, by Audi Crooks.”

The “shots” at Crooks that McAfee mentioned refer to a TikTok posted by ESPN with the caption, “Baylor exposed Audi Crooks on defense,” which came in ISU’s first loss of the season on Jan. 4.

Audi Crooks stats

2025-26 season (14 games): 29.1 points (NCAA leader), 6.7 rebounds, 71% shooting
2024-25 season: 23.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 60.5% shooting
2023-24 season: 19.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 57.7% shooting

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Iowa

Iowa women’s basketball, Chit-Chat Wright sick, Kylie Feuerbach update

Published

16 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Iowa women’s basketball, Chit-Chat Wright sick, Kylie Feuerbach update

Hawk Central report
| Des Moines Register

Iowa women’s basketball was lacking some of its vocal leadership on Monday at Northwestern.

Part of that was the fact that Hawkeyes senior Kylie Feuerbach is still sidelined with an ankle injury. Another part was the fact that Chit-Chat Wright was not feeling great.

“No excuse, but Chat’s really sick,” Iowa coach Jan Jensen said after the Hawkeyes’ 67-58 victory. “She didn’t have the flu game like (Michael) Jordan. But she’s really sick, like fever. And I think that just threw her. She was really not vocal tonight. So we were kinda searching, because Chat had been coming (as a leader).”

Wright fought through it and played 34 minutes, scoring 12 points and dishing out seven assists.

Jensen confirmed that Feuerbach remains day-to-day. She hasn’t played since getting hurt Dec. 20 vs. UConn.

“I think (our leadership tonight) was by committee,” Jensen said. “It just wasn’t the same person every time. … It’ll be nice to get Kylie back in that lineup.”

Feuerbach, the team’s best perimeter defender, has missed Iowa’s last three games. Jensen said she is pleased overall with how her team has played defensively in Feuerbach’s absence.

“(Against Northwestern) it was more an ‘us’ problem offensively,” Jensen said. “Our defense held. … We turned the ball over 20 times.”

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Iowa

Two killed in Dubuque after bar fight escalates into police shooting

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Two killed in Dubuque after bar fight escalates into police shooting

Two people are dead after a Dubuque bar fight escalated, with one man shooting another and then being killed by police.

An officer with the Dubuque Police Department was outside the Odd Fellows bar just before 1 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, when he witnessed a physical altercation, according to a news release from the Dubuque Police Department.

As the officer exited the patrol vehicle, an adult man allegedly used a handgun to shoot one of the people involved in the fight. The officer fired at the offender, who then ran into the bar.

The victim who was shot first was provided medical treatment by officers at the scene and then transported to MercyOne Hospital in Dubuque.

The offender was treated by police officers inside the bar and then transported to UnityPoint Finley Hospital.

Both were later pronounced dead.

The names of those involved are not being released at this time pending notification of family members.

The incident is being investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The officer involved was not injured and has been placed on critical incident leave in accordance with the department’s policies.

Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.

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