Column: A little good news

I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for some good news today. And I found plenty.

First, the annual 319 Music Fest: It kicked off at noon Saturday at Wetherby Park in southeast Iowa City.

Most of the talk about Iowa City's southeast side focuses on its struggles with crime. Organizers of today's music festival hope a day's worth of live, local music and entertainment, food and games for the kids will be enough to entice a few hundred people into the neighborhood to find out what it's really like.

“If we can get people to come out and see the place that everybody is afraid of, it will hopefully dispel some of the negative stereotypes and negative perceptions,” AmeriCorps Vista worker Bethany Bender told me.

The fest also is a way to strengthen neighbors' relationships and the pride of place that help neighborhoods thrive. You can find out more at 319musicfest.weebly.com

Good news item no. 2: According to a recent Iowa State University study, regional food production could create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in income here at home.

Locavores have long championed the environmental and nutritional benefits of eating local. But some critics say it doesn't make economic sense for producers who focus on row crops such as corn and soybeans.

Iowa State researchers put their brains to the question and concluded it's not only possible for Midwestern states like Iowa to grow enough produce to meet local demand, the bottom line looks pretty good, too.

They found that if farmers in six Midwestern states raised enough crops to satisfy local demand, it would generate $882 million in sales and create more than 9,300 jobs worth about $395 million in labor income. No small potatoes.

And because so much produce can grow on a single acre, it wouldn't take that much land. Researchers estimate that just one of Iowa's 99 counties could meet the demand for Iowa and several surrounding states.

And speaking of food: It looks like the cognitively disabled men who were bilked out of their pay by Henry's Turkey Service while working at a meat plant are going to get some of what they're owed.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has determined the company shortchanged the workers by $1 million or more. They're putting together a proposed settlement. A long time coming, maybe, but good news just the same.

And in today's spirit of optimism, let's just say it goes to show it's never too late to right a wrong.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; jennifer.hemmingsen@gazcomm.com