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.
When the state’s newest task force on nursing meets for the first time today, the vast majority of those in the room will be female. Women currently hold 26 seats on the 30-member commission.
While the percentage may seem high, only about 6 percent of all nurses nationally are male. Iowa’s percentage of male nurses ranks below the national average. Call it gender stereotyping with an unusual twist. Also call it something the commission, charged with addressing the many challenges facing Iowa’s nurses, may very well discuss in the coming weeks.
The commission will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, a former nurse, and is scheduled to provide recommendations in early March. In addition to discussing the obvious gender bias currently in the profession, the commission will also tackle such challenges as low wages and an overall declining workforce.
“As a former nurse, I know the difficulties that direct care workers face,” Judge said. “I am looking forward to working with my fellow task force members from across the state, and providing a report that outlines the problem and presents some short term steps and also long term solutions for some of the challenges our nurses currently face.”
The commission, something Gov. Chet Culver called for in his Condition of the State Address in mid-January, is comprised of 22 organizational representatives, four state legislators and four gubernatorial appointees.
Members of the new task force and their affiliations are:
One slot on the commission, reserved for a recent graduate of a two-year program, remains vacant. The commission will meet for the first time today at 9 a.m. at the State Capitol. Comments from the public will be taken between 12:30 and 1 p.m.
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