Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
An anonymous source tells the New York Daily News that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack may not be the country’s next Secretary of Agriculture after all. He may move over and take the spot of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who withdrew his name from contention for Secretary of Commerce earlier this week.
A well-placed source says one option under consideration in filling the now vacant commerce secretary’s slot is to tap ex-Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack for the job. Vilsack already has been named to serve as Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary, and easily could move into the commerce position.
The story doesn’t elaborate any further, and the liklihood of moving a former agriculture state governor away from the Ag department seems remote (I don’t recall any talk of Vilsack as Commerce Secretary before), but not completely out of the question. The theory goes that the Democrats have a deeper bench on the agriculture side. Not so much on commerce. So while it would be hard to find another person qualified to serve in commerce, there are plenty of Dems lined up to run the USDA.
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin said Tuesday that Vilsack’s confirmation hearing has already been set for next week.
Follow Jason Hancock on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter