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.

Flora & Fauna: Delightful Federal Duck Stamps; pumpkin history; bats for bug control; the incredible shooting plant

The simple genius behind duck stamps has supported conservation for over 90 years. (Adobe Stock photo)

Undeniably adorable when waddling on land, elegant and playful while paddling in water and given to showstopping, streamlined moves while flying: Ducks give artists so many reasons to love them. Among those artists, there is a special group -- realist wildlife painters vying to win the Federal Duck Stamp award, which many artists consider a "career pinnacle achievement, comparable to the Oscars or the Grammy’s," writes Kim Kobersmith of The Daily Yonder. The simple genius behind duck stamps has supported conservation for more than 90 years. "Duck hunters over 16 years old are required to purchase the stamp annually. . . . Ninety-eight percent of stamp proceeds go directly to add protected land to the National Wildlife Refuge System. In its 91-year history, the duck stamp has raised $1.2 billion and conserved 6 million acres across the country." The Fish and Wildlife Service website features the nation's Federal Duck Stamp gallery. 

How pumpkins evolved from a humble staple to a "spicy fall obsession" is a tale that began 9,000 years ago in ancient Mexico, writes extension specialist and horticulturist Shelley Mitchell for The Conversation. "I educate the people about the plant’s storied history and its prominence today." Mitchell explains that Native Americans grew pumpkin crops "even before [they grew] corn and beans." Being completely edible, pumpkins are a versatile crop, and early American settlers learned that growing them in North America was easier than in Europe. Read Mitchell's full history about this adaptable member of the squash family here.

A bat researcher measures the ears of a 'chatty' evening bat.
(Photo by Michael Minasi, KUT News)

An orchard filled with stink bugs, mosquitoes and dusty moths is an evening bat's dream dinner. "The tiny brown bats fill the Texas skies each night, and collectively eat tons of insects. They’re essential for farms – including where these researchers are working: Swift River Pecans," reports Michael Marks for Harvest Public Media. "The orchard’s owner, Troy Swift, hosted the researchers so they could collect more information on the species that visit his 266-acre property . . . Swift decided to forego using pesticides on part of his pecan orchard and just let the bat population handle the bugs this year."

An autumn road trip through rural Maine is one way to find the rarest and most coveted apples. "As leaf-peepers flood the state, apple-obsessives also fan out to find oddball specimens that range from rare heirlooms to never-before-tasted seedlings," writes Jen Rose Smith for The Wall Street Journal. "As an amateur fruit fanatic myself, I’ve long wanted to taste my way through Maine’s apple underground. . . along the state’s 3,500-mile coastline." Read Smith's complete apple adventure here.

A great blue heron stands in a restored stream that was once a cranberry bog. 
(Photo by C. Jackson, The Living Observatory via Inside Climate News)

Rising temperatures in Massachusetts have left some cranberry farmers unable to grow the state's signature crop. Instead of continuing to grow cranberries in a climate no longer suited for them, some area farmers are using state assistance to "transform their bogs into wetlands, ensuring the land remains protected," reports Nicole Williams of Inside Climate News. "The shift, called a green exit strategy, has been developed by state agencies and conservationists and driven in part by farmers finding tougher competition from regions with colder climates and younger vines."

American witch hazel plants use internal 'spring' pressure to shoot
their seeds at alarming speeds. (Snapshot via bioGraphic video)

 

As an understory shrub native to the eastern U.S., the American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) plant may sound boring, but it has secret powers. "For centuries, Indigenous peoples in eastern North America have brewed 'magic water' by boiling bark from the twiggy shrub and using it to treat all manner of maladies," writes Katie Garrett for bioGraphic. "Perhaps the plant’s strangest trait is how it spreads its seeds. As winter approaches, they fire their glossy black seeds across the forest floor with audible pops — sometimes launching the start of a new generation as much as 10 meters (33 ft) away from the parent plant."