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.
In a 3 to 2 vote Monday night, the Sioux City Council passed a resolution that says the legal definition of marriage is one man and one woman and asks the Iowa Legislature to place a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot.
As expected, Councilmen Dave Ferris, Brent Hoffman and Aaron Rochester voted for the measure. Mayor Mike Hobart and Councilman Jim Rixner voted against it. Hobart and Rixner emphasized they do not support gay marriage but believed the council did not have legal standing on the issue.
The resolution was first proposed in December but was tabled in order for the council’s attorney to determine if the city had legal standing to take this type of action. However, Ferris told the Sioux City Journal he didn’t want to wait for a legal opinion and had an obligation to his Roman Catholic faith to pursue the matter.
The resolution is an entirely symbolic move since cities lack authority over marriage. But one councilman said the new law would direct city departments, boards and commissions to stay in line with the council’s position despite the fact that the council voted in March to add sexual orientation as one of the protected classes of citizens to bring the city’s Human Rights Commission in step with state civil rights code.
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