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.
An attorney for the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) says their group is in complete compliance with Iowa campaign finance law in spite of allegations to the contrary.
In a letter to Charlie Smithson, executive director of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, the New Jersey-based organization that opposes same-sex marriage said some groups continute to make “unfounded and scurrilous accusations regarding NOM’s activities in Iowa and in other states.”
The state’s largest gay-rights group, One Iowa, and the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa filed a formal complaint Monday alleging that NOM’s refusal to disclose its donors is in violation of election law.
Last week, Smithson said in a letter to NOM Executive Director Brian Brown saying that if his organization continues to engage in express advocacy in Iowa, the group would have to form a PAC and disclose its donors.
Barry Bostrom, NOM’s attorney, said in his response to Smithson that the group is following Iowa’s campaign regulations.
“These accusations and complaints are intended to inhibit our freedom of speech and freedom of association,” he said. “But we intend to aggresively safeguard these rights, while complying with all state and federal laws.”
The group is registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)4 non-profit. Bostrom said because of this NOM receives no funding from business corporations. This is in complete compliance with Iowa law.
Funding for activity in Iowa, which totals nearly $90,000 for a television advertising campaign in support of Republican House candidate Steve Burgmeier in district 90, came from the group’s general treasury.
“No funds have been solicited by NOM for Iowa independent expenditures, and no designated contributions have been received for Iowa independent expenditures,” Bostrom said.
In a statement to the Iowa Independent, NOM Executive Director Brian Brown said he looks forward to the complaint being dismissed.
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