The Dean Corps is getting its first press:

The Daily Iowan: For Dean and Dean Corps, it's in the bag

[Dean] spent part of the afternoon at the Crisis Center, 1121 Gilbert Ct., bagging more than 320 pounds of food that Dean Corps - his volunteer initiative - gathered for local needy families. A frenzied crush of reporters followed Dean through the aisles of tulip-adorned Hy-Vee bags.

Dean Corps, which kicked off its first event in Iowa City, was created this summer to get the former Vermont governor's supporters involved in politics by contributing to their communities. Dean said the program will make a statement about bringing young people into politics through activism.

"We've headed this to show that we're interested in doing something other than getting votes," he told reporters. "We're emphasizing this is not just politics but also community service."

Ross Wilburn, who has been the executive director of the Crisis Center for three years, said he and his staff learned about Dean Corps' plans to donate the food a week and a half ago.

"I think Dean Corps is a fantastic idea," said Wilburn, who is also a Iowa City city councilor. "On so many campaigns, all the money gets spent on getting the word out, and with a program like this, time and money get spent on giving back."

Dean Corps is an idea which should really be talked up and invested in. Imagine if one component of the competition between campaigns was to see how much good they could do in communities across the country.

I'd like to see a specific Dean Corps page on the official website with ideas for service projects and news about Corps accomplishments. The Get Local tools could be put to use in organizing such events in addition to the house parties and ballot petition drives.

Furthermore, I'd like to see less coverage of Dean which focuses solely on his Iraq positions; having a steady drumbeat of food drives and blood drives and community cleanups would go a long way to expanding the range of stories the media tells.