Quick hits: Cold Case Card Deck to solve crimes; USPS podcast; Walmart's new milk plant; states snip SNAP snacks

Maine State Police hope their card deck 
will generate tips on unsolved cases. 
(Maine State Police photo via Midcoast Villager)

The Maine State Police are launching a Cold Case Deck of Cards initiative to generate leads for unsolved cases. "The deck features 52 of Maine State Police’s unsolved homicides and suspicious missing person cases and will be distributed to inmates in correctional facilities across the state," reports Jim Leonard of the Midcoast Villager. "This marks the first time the concept has been implemented in Maine. Similar initiatives in more than two dozen states have been credited with helping solve multiple homicide investigations."

Just because cranberries are tart doesn't mean they require a ton of sugar to become tasty. "Diabetics or anyone who wants to reduce the added sugars they’re consuming can try a few culinary tactics to lower their sugar intake while still enjoying this holiday treat," writes food scientist Rosemary Trout for The Conversation. "Don’t cook your cranberries much longer after they pop. You’ll still have a viscous cranberry liquid without the need for as much sugar. … For a richer flavor and a glossy quality, add butter. … Adding chopped walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts can slow glucose absorption, so your blood glucose may not spike as quickly."

In a tribute to snail mail and history buffs, a new podcast, "People of Agency," offers listening excursions into "the stories of individuals who have shaped USPS over its 250-year history," reports Sean Michael Newhouse of Government Executive. The show is co-created and co-hosted by Aileen Day, a political communications consultant, and Maia Warner-Langenbahn, who co-hosts the "Well, I Laughed" podcast. In the show's first episode, the duo recount the story of Mary Katherine Goddard, who was "put in charge of Baltimore’s mail in 1775 and printed the first copy of the Declaration of Independence that listed all of its signatories."

In a bid to have more control over production and supply, Walmart recently opened its "second U.S.-owned milk processing facility in Valdosta, Ga., a $350-million plant supplying milk to more than 650 Southeast stores," reports Taylor Leach of Dairy Herd. While the company does purchase milk from local farmers, "some critics have warned Walmart buys milk from only a handful of large farms, putting smaller farms under further pressure. … The opening also follows Walmart’s recent investments in case-ready beef plants in Thomasville, Ga., and Olathe, Kansas."

Shaking your real Christmas tree before bringing it 
into your home can keep bugs from coming inside.

The holidays can be full of surprises, but discovering six-legged stowaways in your freshly cut Christmas tree shouldn't be one of them. "Bringing a real Christmas tree into your warm living room can accidentally wake up thousands of dormant bugs, turning your cozy holiday into a surprise visit from nature," reports Jenn Jordan of The Weather Channel. To prevent insect or spider visitors from entering your home, while your tree is still outside, give it more than one seriously hard shake. Many tree farms use mechanical shakers, which can also do the trick.

From the bubonic plague to cholera pandemics to deadly staph infections, bacterial illnesses often pose one of the biggest challenges to human survival. But with innovation, microorganisms can also help humans do remarkable things. "In the boulder-strewn desert east of Tucson, Arizona, miners are using sulfuric acid and bacteria to bring online the first new U.S. copper production in more than a decade," reports Ryan Dezember of The Wall Street Journal. Advances in technology are key to how this copper is mined. The enterprise uses "microbes to strip copper from ores that are otherwise uneconomical to mine." The Grand Canyon's state motto just happens to be Ditat Deus, which is Latin for "God Enriches." Last year, 70% of U.S. copper came from Arizona.

A total of 18 states have banned some non-nutritious foods from SNAP purchases. 
(Axios graph, from USDA data)

More states are restricting junk food purchases with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to increase the federal funding they receive. "Six more states agreed to ban the use of SNAP benefits for junk food under new deals with the Trump administration," reports April Rubin of Axios. "The new waivers restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda, energy drinks, certain juices, prepared desserts and candy." While which foods and drinks are restricted varies by state, all states with added nutritional restrictions will all receive more federal dollars to support their SNAP programs.

Christmas tree growers are 'overcoming historic challenges' to provide live trees to holiday buyers

Fraser firs are a holiday tree
favorite. (Photo by W. Hicks)

Picking out a live Christmas tree, even with the family haggling that often comes with it, is how many Americans officially begin their holiday season. But this year, Christmas tree farmers had to work harder and with more creativity to get those trees ready for sale, reports Valerie Bauerlein of The Wall Street Journal. "Growers are having to overcome historic challenges to get them to the lots."

The difficulties Christmas tree farmers face aren't limited to growing perfectly shaped trees. They also face tree disease, labor shortages, plastic tree competitors, and "inflation on everything from seeds to tractors," Bauerlein writes. "And that was before Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on the western part of North Carolina, which produces more Christmas trees than any state except Oregon."

The beloved Fraser fir tree crop grows primarily in western North Carolina where flooding "left 95 people dead, washed out roads and destroyed homes," Bauerlein adds. Tree farmer Waightstill Avery III lost a barn, equipment and "60,000 trees, a third of the total at family-owned Trinity Tree Company-Avery Farms. Many of the damaged trees were partially submerged by floodwater. Others were covered in clingy silt that resists washing. . . . Avery’s staff have been recovering what they can."

Besides dealing with unpredictable weather, most tree farmers are short-staffed, with many using migrant workers to shore up labor gaps, but that solution has become more difficult and expensive. Bauerlein reports, "Tree farmer Rusty Barr said the regulations around hiring foreign workers have become increasingly cumbersome. . . . The hourly rate he pays is increasing to more than $16 next year, another cost to absorb."

The industry also faces a smaller pool of customers as "baby boomers stop putting up live trees," Bauerlein explains. "There is increasingly stiff competition from China-made artificial trees, which have become easier to assemble and more lifelike, sometimes boasting scents like 'white winter fir.' . . . Such challenges have buffeted market size: The number of trees harvested in the U.S. has declined 30% since 2002."

Even as the industry looks at this obstacle-filled season, "the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association said there should be enough supply for anyone who wants a real tree this year, though growers say that buyers might need to adjust their expectations," Bauerlein adds. "Some church groups that flock to the mountains to stock their tree lots back home have been intentionally seeking out scraggly 'Charlie Brown' trees as a show of support."