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.
A $545 million bonding proposal passed the Iowa House at around 1:45 a.m. Saturday morning.
The bill, Senate File 376, marks the biggest chunk of what will eventually be more than $800 million in bonding bills aimed at flood recovery and infrastructure repair. The measure passed on a 53-43 vote.
As part of Gov. Chet Culver’s I-JOBS recovery plan, the bill establishes an 11-member board within the Iowa Finance Authority to oversee payment of the bonds and ensure the projects fit into the program’s criteria, which include the number of jobs created, the project’s readiness to proceed immediately, and the project’s energy efficiency, among other things.
Some of the highlights of the plan include:
- $185.8 million for competitive grants for local infrastructure projects related to disaster recovery.
- $165 million in bonds will be issued for flood prevention, reconstruction and replacement of local buildings.
-$55 million for water improvement projects.
-$20 million for affordable housing assistance grants.
-$25 million for public broadband technology grants.
-$50 million for bridge safety fund.
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