Someone has invited bad karma into their lives after breaking into an Adams County home famous for a gruesome murder scene. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a Thanksgiving Day burglary at the Villisca Axe Murder House.

Authorities received a call at around 3-p.m. Thursday reporting the break-in.  After deputies arrived, they found evidence of forced entry and a broken ceramic crock in the kitchen. Other belongings were scattered around the house. The damage was estimated at $350.

The home is the site of the June 10, 1912 murder of Josiah “J.B.” Moore, his wife and four children, and two overnight child guests. The occupants of the residence were bludgeoned with an axe  sometime between midnight and 5:00 a.m., on that date, 100-years ago. The assailant was never identified.

Anyone with information about Thursday’s burglary is asked to call Montgomery County Crime Stoppers at 800-432-1001.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Many Iowa food banks are struggling to keep their pantries stocked as there’s been an increase in demand for their services at the same donations have dropped off. Brian Barks is spokesperson for Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, which provides services to 16 counties in western Iowa and 77 counties in Nebraska.  “Right now, our inventory is as low as I’ve seen it leading up to Thanksgiving,” Barks said. “It’s just been a real tough struggle getting food in our doors. Unfortunately, what we’re having to do is spend a lot more money buying food in order to help those who need it.”

During the last fiscal year, the Food Bank for the Heartland purchased about 16-percent of its inventory. This year, 31-percent of the food they distribute is purchased. Compounding the problem is rising food prices. Barks notes one of their most distributed items is peanut butter. “What we’ve seen, year to date, is a 12-percent increase in the price of peanut butter. That speaks to the fact of how much more food we are having to purchase to keep our inventory at a reasonably adequate level,” Barks said. Although the economy and unemployment rate have been improving, charity providers are seeing more customers.

“What we are finding is there are a lot of people who have gotten back into the job market, but they’re not making the income that they were when they lost their job. So, they’re having to make up that gap somewhere,” Barks said. In 2011, the Food Bank for the Heartland distributed ten-million pounds of food. That marked a 10% increase from 2009.

(Radio Iowa)

Law enforcement officers are expecting to see more marijuana trafficking in Iowa following the decriminalization of the drug in states like Colorado and Washington. Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy Director Steve Lukan says marijuana use in Iowa in on the rise, in part, because more shipments are arriving from out of state. “Any time you see increased access and increased supply, you’re going to see an increase in abuse as well. So, we have some real concerns about that trend,” Lukan said. A report released earlier this month shows marijuana manufacturing, distribution and use are increasing in Iowa. Just over 26-percent of all Iowans screened or admitted for drug treatment last year said marijuana was their primary substance of abuse.

In Colorado, it is now legal for anyone 21 or older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. It’s also legally sold and taxed at state-licensed stores. “One of the things people are looking at real closely right now is how Colorado is going to rectify itself with the federal government,” Lukan said. “We do have the Controlled Substances Act at the federal level, which would still keep marijuana a Schedule One drug. I think there’s going to have to be some reconciliation between state law and the federal government on how that will proceed. That will answer a lot of those questions.”

State Representative Bruce Hunter, a Democrat from Des Moines, recently stated he would introduce a bill that would decriminalize pot possession as long as those caught with it aren’t selling it. Other Iowa lawmakers have expressed support for a medical marijuana measure. However, both bills would like face tough opposition in the legislature next year and Governor Branstad has said he would veto any bill that would legalize marijuana in any capacity.

(Radio Iowa)