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.
Rep. Steve King, the Fifth District congressman from western Iowa, has scheduled a press conference for 9 a.m. Monday to announce his endorsement in the Republican presidential caucus.
King, who enjoys strong popularity among the most conservative members of the Republican Party, said in a news release that he hasn’t told anyone his final choice.
“This decision is my personal conviction. No candidate, committee, or even my wife knows the conclusion I will announce,” said King.
King said plans to offer his support and volunteer to join the Iowa campaign of the candidate he endorses. Although he has had kind words for Rep. Tom Tancredo, a second-tier presidential candidate from Colorado who has made immigration reform a cornerstone of his campaign, King hasn’t provided any indication of who he might support.Regardless of who is it, the King endorsement could prove to be a turning point in the GOP race because of the congressman’s strong popularity with social conservatives across the state. King is an outspoken opponent to illegal immigration and vocal advocate of overturning laws that provide access to abortions.
Not only would a King endorsement provide some guidance for like-minded Republicans in the state, but it might also serve as a resource for contacting voters in western Iowa. King’s ascension as one of the most powerful Republicans in the state has occurred in a relatively short period of time.
After redistricting took fellow Republican Tom Latham – and current Fourth District congressman — out of the Fifth District in 2002, King ran for the seat in a four-way Republican primary. He received 30 percent of the vote, five points short of the 35 percent required by law. He was nominated as the Republican candidate in a special convention, winning on the fourth ballot. He’s easily won both general elections in which he’s participated.
King was the only Representative from Iowa to score 100 percent on the joint Family Research Council Action/Focus on the Family Action Congressional Scorecard last year. He serves as chairman of Conservative Opportunity Society, an organization founded by Newt Gingrich and others that laid the groundwork for the Republicans’ 1994 takeover of the House.
King is well known for his strong views on illegal immigration and the steps Hispanic-Americans need to take to assimilate themselves into their communities. He received a 100 percent rating from Numbers USA, a public policy organization that “opposes efforts to use federal immigration policies to force mass U.S. population growth and to depress wages of vulnerable workers.”
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