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Union Pacific Railroad recently donated $50,000 to a state of Iowa flood-related disaster relief fund.

UP operates more than 1,400 miles of track in the state and spent about $590 million on capital improvements in Iowa the past five years. The funds will be placed in the Embrace Iowa 2008 Iowa Disaster Fund, which benefits residents who experienced significant hardships as a result of June's widespread flooding.

Meanwhile, the Norfolk Southern Foundation awarded grants totaling $2.2 million in the year's first half to non-profit charitable organizations. The total represents 44 percent of the foundation's $5 million budget in 2008.

The grants included $721,615 in employee and retiree matching gifts to support 334 organizations. The foundation also provided grants that did not involve matching gifts to 104 organizations.

Norfolk Southern Corp. established the foundation in 1984 to direct and implement the Class I's charitable programs.