Indiana Shares Bat-Disease Funding

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says Indiana and seven other Midwestern states will share more than $280,000 in federal money intended to help combat white-nose syndrome among bats.

The service said in a news release Tuesday that the money will be divided among state natural resource agencies in of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. The money is part of $1.3 million in grants divided among 30 states.

The money is intended to help pay for research, bat monitoring and disease detection.

White-nose syndrome is a frequently lethal disease among bats named for the white fungus that appears on the animals' noses.

The disease was first detected in New York in 2006-07. It has since spread extensively through the eastern United States and parts of Canada.