Pat Blank

Christmas trees suffer through drought

Pat Blank — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:41:30 +0000

In the Dr. Seuss book, it was the Grinch who stole Christmas. But for some Midwest tree growers, it may be the drought that eventually steals the holiday.

Danny Moulds, who owns Kris Kringle’s Trees just north of Cedar Falls, Iowa, said the hot dry summer took a harsh toll on newly planted seedlings. “We did lose about 15,000 Christmas trees in a 46-acre farm,” Moulds said. “And with the fir trees we didn’t lose just the little ones we planted this year, we (also) lost last year’s.”

Pink Slime Maker To Close Plants, 650 To Lose Jobs

Pat Blank — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:06:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some other news. Two words - pink slime - have been powerful enough to cost the jobs of 650 meat-processing workers.

Iowa Public Radio's Pat Blank reports on the backlash against a ground-beef filler.

PAT BLANK, BYLINE: Officials with Beef Products Incorporated, or BPI, will permanently close three production plants in Waterloo, Iowa; Amarillo, Texas; and Garden City, Kansas; by the end of the month.

BPI is the maker of what the industry calls lean, finely textured beef, a product that critics refer to as pink slime. Iowa Gov.