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.
State Sen. Merlin Bartz (R-Grafton) has enlisted the help of the Iowa Family Policy Center to circulate petitions designed to encourage Iowa’s 99 county recorders to defy the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in Varnum v. Brien that effectively legalized same-sex marriage.
According to instructions emailed out to the Iowa Family Policy Center’s members and posted on Bartz’s poorly formatted web page, conservatives should print out copies of the petition form to bring with them to church this Sunday, and then they should deliver signed petitions to their county recorder when their office opens Monday morning:
DIRECTIONS REGARDING COUNTY RECORDERS PETITION
- Print as many copies of this petition as you so desire.
- Distribute petitions to anybody you feel who would be inclined to help in this endeavor.
- Before submitting petitions to your county recorder, make two copies of the signed petition. Keep one for yourself and send a copy for accountability purposes to the Iowa Family Policy Center, 1100 N. Hickory, Suite 107, Pleasant Hill, IA 50327.
- If you need further instructions on how to deliver your petition to your county recorder, feel free to call 1-877-866-IFPC.
Please print and take several copies to church with you on Sunday. Then, commit to stopping by your Recorder’s office next Monday morning to hand deliver them just as the office opens.
The struggle between the Supreme Court and Iowa law is causing a constitutional crisis in the state of Iowa, and your County Recorder is caught in the middle. Please keep your recorder in prayer, and bring as many signatures as possible to them on Monday to show that you support them. Recorders offices open at 8:00, so be sure to get there early.
Social conservatives frequently use churches to gain petition signatures and disseminate promotional materials.
All elected officials in Iowa are required to take an oath of office pledging to support the Iowa Constitution, which grants courts the right to strike laws that are inconsistent with the rights embodied in the document. Defying an Iowa Supreme Court decision could be considered a violation of the oath.
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