Fentanyl seizures in Iowa up 105 percent in 2023: A new report on fentanyl seizures shows that the state of Iowa, plus eight counties along the Illinois/Wisconsin border, had among the nation’s greatest increases this year in seizure of fentanyl, the highly potent opioid that is causing overdoses to spiral nationwide. KCRG reports that 141,000 fentanyl pills were seized in Iowa in 2023, 105 percent the number seized in 2022. In addition, testing by the Drug Enforcement Administration showed that in 2023, seven out of 10 seized pills contained a deadly dose of fentanyl, compared to 4 of 10 seized pills in 2021 and 6 of 10 in 2022.
Rock Island/Milan School District hires first-ever female superintendent: Dr. Sharon Williams, originally from Tennessee, comes to the Rock Island/Milan School district from Cook County, reports WQAD. Williams is the first-ever female to lead the district, located on the Illinois side of the Quad Cities, and said she was drawn to lead the district because of its “compelling vision of equity and the diverse student body and Board of Education.”
Historic percentage of Emmy Award-winners this year are People of Color: The five People of Color Emmy Award winners Monday is the greatest number since 1991, says Hollywood Reporter. Those winners include Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Quinta Brinton (Abbott Elementary), Niecy Nash-Betts (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), and Beef’s Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.
Club Q shooter likely to face decades more in jail for federal hate crimes: Anderson Aldrich, the gunman who killed five and injured 46 at the Club Q LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs in 2022, is expected to plead guilty to federal hate crimes soon, reports USA Today and other media. The 23-year-old on Tuesday pled “not guilty” to the hate crimes charges, but a court filing from Jan. 9 indicates he will soon plead guilty as part of a plea agreement that will save him from the death penalty in return for accepting a sentence of 190-plus years.
Coalition of 250 groups asks USDA to promote plant-based eating to fight climate change: A letter that features not only groups but also experts asks the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take several steps that will increase the focus on plant-based eating as an important part of climate change, reports Plant-Based News. The letter asks the USDA to make reduction of meat and dairy part of its climate strategy; increase access to plant-based foods in school meal programs; and emphasize “plant-forward” eating patterns into the agency’s official dietary guidelines. Read more here.
(photo shows seized real and counterfeit rainbow fentanyl pills, by the Drug Enforcement Administration through Wikimedia Commons)
