No-Li Brewhouse has been crafting beer in the Northwest since 1993. Their branding pays homage to their love of Spokane and the region. Now, No-Li has put Spokane on the map as a major force in the world of craft brews. Earlier this week No-Li announced that they have gotten federal approval for a new style of craft beer. Spokane-Style.

What makes a beer Spokane-Style? Well, first off it must be brewed and packaged in Spokane. But the origin of the beer goes beyond that. To be classified as Spokane-Style all the ingredients must come from within 300 miles of the city. Naturally, all of No-Li beers fall under the category of Spokane-Style.

No-Li attributes its close to home ingredients for driving its demand in other areas of the country. Whole Foods carries it in Washington D.C. and the largest liquor stores in Colorado have started selling the brand as well. No-Li is on tap both at Safeco Field and Century Link Field in Seattle.

Each day in the national headlines it seems there is always some battle over the Constitutional Rights of America. Recently, the battle over the 2nd Amendment has dominated the country’s attention in the wake of the Sandy Hook school murders.

In the face of such a tragedy, it is easy to find a quick fix. In the case of Sandy Hook the response by Connecticut lawmakers and many other states has been to pass laws banning certain types of rifles and the size of magazines for those rifles that are already owned. The laws bring comfort to the families who are touched by gun violence; they bring hope that someday America will be free from murders and shootings.

Friends and neighbors debate the merit of such laws. Proponents say the laws will keep people like Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza from walking into a school and killing 26 people. Opponents say the laws only take away the freedoms of law abiding citizens; after all, criminals aren’t known for following the laws in the first place.

So is America becoming safer or are Americans losing their rights?

It happens to all of us. That one library book gets stuck on the bottom shelf of your night stand or buried under a stack of magazines and ultimately forgotten. Before you know it the fines are piling up and you can't check out a new book. Well folks, you're in luck! Next week the Spokane County Library District is celebrating National Library Week with Food for Fines. For each donation of a non-perishable food item, you can reduce your library fines by $1.00.

All 10 Spokane County Libraries are participating in Food for Fines and the donations benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank. Each month, Second Harvest needs 60,000 pounds of food to fill its network of food pantries. Food for Fines will also benefit Second Harvest networks in Cheney, Deer Park, Fairfield and Medical Lake.