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.
The 2010 Iowa Caucuses will not matter much to national politics (given the conspicuous lack of presidential candidates scurrying around), but an important precedent could be set by their scheduled date.
January 23, the date announced for the 2010 caucuses by the Democratic and Republican parties today, is a Saturday. That means that in 2012, the presidential caucuses could also be held on a Saturday.
In theory, that would enable more people to participate (Jews who observe the sabbath are one prominent exception). It might also reduce the volume of criticism coming from caucus opponents, who argue that the hours-long process excludes too many potential voters.
Here’s the joint press release from the state party chairmen, which makes no explicit mention of 2012:
DES MOINES, IA – Iowa Democratic Party State Chairman, Mike Kiernan, and Republican Party of Iowa State Chairman, Matt Strawn, made the following joint statement concerning the date and time for the 2010 precinct caucuses.
“We are proud to announce the Republican Party of Iowa and the Iowa Democratic Party, with the support of our respective State Central Committees, have agreed to hold the 2010 Precinct Caucuses on Saturday, January 23 beginning at 1 p.m.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time either Party has held its precinct caucuses on a Saturday. Our decision to hold these important organizational meetings on a Saturday was made to encourage greater participation in an off-year caucus and get more Iowans actively involved with the work of our Parties.
Getting more Iowans involved in their local precinct caucuses is good for Democrats, good for Republicans, and good our political process. Iowans will be making some critically important decisions in 2010 and the more people actively involved in the process the better for Iowa.”
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter