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 certain type of little green bug has recently been devastating populations of ash trees in parts of the upper Midwest, and now Iowa officials are concerned it may be on its way here.
The emerald ash borer is a destructive pest that has been chomping its way through Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and has also been found in Maryland and Canada.
State officials in Iowa are so concerned that it may make its way here, they have proclaimed next week "Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week," May 20-26.
Adult emerald ash borers are a metallic green color and are usually slightly less than one half inch long. The larval form of the bug destroys the wood of ash trees, and can be difficult to spot before it's too late.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Richard Leopold are planning a big press conference on Tuesday, May 22 to get the word out about the invading bugs.
According to the Ag Department, there are 25 million ash trees in Michigan alone that are dead or dying as a result of the damage caused by the green beetles. Here in Iowa, we have a population of about 15 million urban ash trees, and nearly 50 million rural ash trees, all at risk of being munched by the emerald ash borer.
One of the ways the pests have traveled is by hitching a ride on cut firewood that is transported by campers. The Iowa DNR is warning campers to not transport firewood from other states into Iowa.
According to the Ag Department, areas that are currently infested by the emerald ash borer are now under federal and state quarantines, but campers that are unaware of the problem could unknowingly transport infested wood.
(Photo/David Cappaert of Michigan State University and courtesy of www.forestryimages.org)
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