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.
Iowa’s unemployment payments currently outpace the revenue generated by unemployment taxes paid by employers. That’s because the number of unemployed Iowans has grown, says Elisabeth Buck, Iowa Workforce Deveopment director.
Though there are currently enough funds saved up to pay increased benefits right now, an increase in unemployment taxes for businesses could be on the horizon if current trends continue.
As reported by the Register:
“We’ve seen a huge acceleration in unemployment really since about Thanksgiving,” Buck said.
The number of claims is about 65 percent higher now than last year at this time. If that acceleration continues, a tax increase “becomes a definite possibility,” said Joe Bervid, legal counsel for Iowa Workforce Development.
Unemployment rates have been rising nationally as the United States wallows in a severe economic recession, but, so far, Iowa has fared well compared to some of the hardest-hit states. These latest unemployment numbers indicate that, while Iowa has not yet felt the brunt of the economic crisis, the Hawkeye state may not be able to avoid it forever.
Here are a few more stats reported by the Register:
Black men in Iowa have been hit the hardest, with 11.9 percent unemployed. About 4 percent of white men are unemployed, and 6.4 percent of Hispanic men have no job, Buck said.
Six counties have unemployment of 7.6 percent to 9.1 percent: Winnebago and Hancock counties due to layoffs at Winnebago Industries; Jasper County due to the Maytag closure; Allamakee and Clayton counties due to troubles at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville; and Lee County, possibly due to last summer’s flooding. Statewide, the unemployment rate is 4.6 percent; the national rate is 7.6 percent.
And Iowans are tapping into unemployment money longer than the average 11-week stint, Buck said.
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