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)

The preservation of hundreds of historic homes in western Iowa has largely been left to amateurs and volunteers, but the National Park Service is now getting involved in protecting one historic site in Mills County. “The Davis Oriole Earthlodge Site” near Pacific Junction was declared a National Historic Landmark last month. It was discovered in the 1960s by “D.D.” Davis of Glenwood. Dennis Miller of Silver City knew Davis. “Mr. Davis was a renowned hunter and collector,” Miller says. “He spent a lot of time on Pony Creek.” The site used to be in a pasture, but that farm ground is now part of Pony Creek Park and the “earthlodge” that was built a thousand years ago is hidden under several feet of soil.

Miller says there are hundreds of similar “earthlodges” in western Iowa which were home to Native Americans between the years of 900 and 13-hundred. “I’ve discovered quite a few over the years,” he says. “There’s a lot of them right around the Glenwood area, mostly north and west of Glenwood on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River flood plain and along Pony Creek.” According to Miller, “hundreds” of earthlodges have been recorded in the Loess Hills. “Quite a few of them excavated, some by the state, (some) by the Smithsonian,” Miller says. “In years past a lot of amateurs excavated sites. Most of the amateurs were like D.D. Davis or Paul Rowe…They didn’t sell the material. They just liked to collect it.”

Miller says it’s good to have National Park Service involved in coming up with a protection plan for the historic “earthlodge” that earned Historic Landmark status in October. “There’s hundreds of them been found, but a lot of them have been excavated (or) destroyed by roads and farming, so there’s very few intact sites left,” Miller says. The intact “earthlodge” near Pacific Junction that’s now a National Historic Landmark sits under a few feet of soil right now. “D.D.” Davis — the man who discovered that “earthlodge” — helped construct an above-ground replica in Glenwood several years ago. It was recently rebuilt and remains on display across the street from the Mills County Museum.

(Radio Iowa)