MANSON, Iowa (AP) – A 30-year-old Lake View man has been charged with unsafe passing for a fatal collision between his car and a bicyclist in northwest Iowa. Eric Meyer, of Lake View, also is charged with failure to wear a safety belt and have proof of insurance. The charge of unsafe passing carries an enhanced penalty, if he’s convicted, because the accident resulted in a death.

The Iowa State Patrol says 47-year-old Shawn Gosch, of Onawa, on June 20 was riding a bicycle with 49-year-old Jeffrey Gray, also of Onawa. The patrol says Meyer’s car struck Gosch’s bicycle, which then crashed into Gray’s. Gosch was pronounced dead later at a hospital. Gray was injured.

Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a Red Oak man Thursday evening. Officials say 22-year old Cody D. Johnson was charged with Simple Assault, following an investigation into a disturbance at a residence in the 100 block of w. 6th Street, in Villisca. During the investigation, it was determined Johnson had been involved in a physical confrontation with one of the residents in the home.

Johnson was brought to the Montgomery County LEC (Law Enforcement Center) and held on $300 bond.

A new study shows significant soil erosion in Iowa this year. Craig Cox, with the Environmental Working Group, says soil erosion is a major problem for water quality, and it also hurts farm production while damaging the environment. “From this spring through June, about 15-million tons of Iowa soil was eroded from farm fields,” Cox says. “That estimate doesn’t include the amount of soil from these ephemeral gullies which is what our study looked at.” The study found almost one-third of that lost soil came from just four counties: Adair, Cass, Clayton and Pottawattamie.

The report surveyed 63-million acres of cropland and found about 35-million acres had a moderate-to-high need for more conservation measures. Cox, the E-W-G’s senior vice president of ag and natural resources, says the study found evidence of farming conservation practices that have helped recently, but he says more needs to be done to reduce soil erosion.

“There were additional conservation measures taken and in four of the five cases there were new grassed waterways or there were grassed waterways that were fixed,” Cox says. “In one case, there was a cover crop and it worked, those practices worked incredibly well and they really solved these problems.” Cox says it’s unfortunate that federal policymakers have cut back on funding for conservation and the Conservation Reserve Program has faded to only 25-million acres nationwide, including about one-and-a-half million acres in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New federal data shows that consumer spending in Iowa has grown slightly faster than the national average since 2009. The report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released yesterday shows that per capita spending in Iowa jumped 12 percent between 2009 and 2012.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Some television stations say they will not run a College Savings Iowa ad featuring Iowa Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald because it could be considered political. Fitzgerald’s deputy treasurer Karen Austin says the ad will be revised for stations that raise concerns. She says the ad is not political and is part of a long-running campaign to encourage participation in the popular college savings program.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man who quit his nursing job at a Council Bluffs hospital after he says he was prohibited from telling two patients they were worked on with unsterilized instruments is suing the hospital for back pay and damages. Robert Burgin tells the Omaha World Herald he resigned from Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs in April 2013 after his bosses refused to tell two patients that surgical instruments used on them in 2012 hadn’t been properly sterilized.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Those who think Mark Mangino can fix Iowa State’s offense point to the program’s wide receivers as a major reason for their optimism. Led by junior Quenton Bundrage, the Cyclones should have multiple options for whoever wins the starting quarterback competition between Grant Rohach and Sam Richardson.

Officials with the Hitchcock House say the final summer program at the historical site in Cass County, will be a reading of the Civil War Letters of Francis R. Howard. Floyd Pearce, Chairman, Hitchcock House Board, says Private Howard enlisted in the Iowa 23rd Infantry Regiment from Lewis. The letters provide an intimate look into Civil War army life.

Private Howard died of wounds inflicted in the battle of Port Gibson. Matthew Smith will read the Letters. The program is free, at 2 pm, Sunday, August 17th, in the Red Barn. Bring comfortable chairs if you have them. Hitchcock House, one mile west of Lewis, was a station on the Underground Railroad and is a National Historic Landmark.

Three people were arrested recently, in Cass County. The Sheriff’s Office says 52-year old Katherine Ann Lange, of Anita, was arrested Thursday (8/7), on a charge of Aggravated Domestic Abuse. Lange was taken to the Cass County Jail where she was released later that day on her own recognizance.

On Wednesday, deputies arrested 54-year old Mark David Carroll, of Griswold, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Simple. Carroll was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released the following day on his own recognizance.

And on Tuesday, 34-year old Travis Lynn Sickels, of Red Oak, was transferred to the Cass County Jail on a District Court warrant for Failure to Appear on a Child Support Hearing. Sickels was booked and remains held on $2,000 cash bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A man who quit his nursing job at a Council Bluffs hospital after he says he was prohibited from telling two patients they were worked on with unsterilized instruments is suing the hospital for back pay and damages. Robert Owen Burgin says he resigned from Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs in April 2013 after his bosses refused to tell two patients that surgical instruments used on them in 2012 hadn’t been properly sterilized.

The Omaha World Herald Reports Burgin filed the lawsuit against Mercy’s parent Alegent Creighton Health on Monday in Pottawattamie County. Alegent Creighton says it will formally respond to the allegations through the court process and denies their accuracy.

Burgin, who is 56, now works as a temporary nurse in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources invites you to take a day to visit prairies in the northern Loess Hills Aug. 16.th The tours are hosted by Iowa Prairie Network, with DNR, Woodbury County Conservation and Iowa Native Plant Society co-sponsoring the first field trip.

The first field trip, “Insects and Wildflowers of the Prairie,” will start north of Sioux City. Open to the public, the tour kicks off at 10 a.m. from Spirit Knoll, three miles north of Stone State Park’s west entrance on state Highway 12. Join insect enthusiast M. J. Hatfield who will be sweeping for insects, doing some show and tell, and educating about insects. Bill and Dianne Blankenship, and Kevin Pape, DNR park ranger, plus many others will help with prairie plant identifications.

Spirit Knoll will be dedicated as a state preserve Oct. 11 with programs and field trips that day, also.

Iowa Prairie Network is providing additional field trips in the afternoon. Bring a brown bag lunch to eat at Calumet Shelter at Stone State Park. A visit to Mount Talbot State Preserve in the park will follow a brief annual meeting. Then those who are interested can make a short trip north to Broken Kettle Grasslands to visit The Nature Conservancy’s Stevenson Preserve.

There will be a dinner at Bill and Dotty Zales’ home in the rural Loess Hills of Plymouth County, a few miles from Broken Kettle, followed by a campfire and camping (if desired).

Please RSVP by Aug. 13 for dinner (and indicate if you prefer vegetarian lasagna) to Dotty Zales at 712-540-0952 or zales66@hotmail.com, or to Dianne Blankenship at bennaid@hotmail.com. Also, indicate if you plan to camp.