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.
With legislators working to adjourn the 2009 session as quickly as possible, conservative groups with a long list of grievances will gather all week trying to make their voices heard.
A coalition of same-sex marriage opponents, including the Iowa Family Policy Center, the Iowa Christian Alliance and Everyday America, will rally at the capitol today with the hope of convincing lawmakers to take up the controversial marriage amendment. The gathering is expected to go from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A similar rally was held Thursday, after which Republican Rep. Christopher Rants of Sioux City tried and failed to attach the amendment, which would ban same-sex marriage, to the Health and Human Services budget.
Most expect another Republican attempt this week to force a vote on the amendment, although House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, told the Cedar Rapids Gazette’s James Lynch that the marriage issue wouldn’t prolong the session.
One Iowa, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization, is planning to counter the conservative gathering with a “virtual rally” by asking supporters of same-sex marriage to call legislators.
Iowans for Tax Relief will rally Tuesday at 10 a.m. to oppose proposed legislation that would end federal deductibility, which allows state residents to write off their federal tax burden on their state returns. The change is part of a Democratic tax reform plan that could be debated Tuesday or Wednesday. During a public hearing on the bill last month, a group organized by Iowans for Tax Relief had to be removed from the House gallery after repeatedly ignoring requests to stop booing speakers they disagreed with.
Then, on Wednesday, the second Des Moines Tea Party will be held at the capitol from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A similar event was held Saturday as part of conservative radio host and Fox News contributor Glenn Beck’s “9-12 Project.” Wednesday’s event is completely separate and designed as an antitaxation demonstration to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party. The gathering’s press release says several speakers are scheduled, but their names, as well as the organization behind the gathering, are not listed.
While advertised around the country as spontaneous grassroots gatherings of concerned taxpayers, some observers have pointed out that in many cases the tea parties are organized by corporate lobbyists and conservative groups like FreedomWorks, run by former Republican U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Army.
The group’s Web site does, however, have a list of appropriate signs for the event.
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