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.
Fred Hubbell has accepted Gov. Chet Culver’s offer to serve as the interim director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED). He will replace Mike Tramontina, who resigned abruptly Friday.
Hubbell steps into the role with controversy swirling around a state tax credit administered by IDED aimed growing the Iowa’s film and television industry. Accusations of misconduct and lax oversight caused the resignation of Tramontina and his chief deputy, Vince Lintz, and the firing of Tom Wheeler, head of Iowa’s Film Office.
Joe O’Hern, deputy director at the Iowa Finance Authority, will serve as interim deputy director at IDED, focusing on IDED’s flood recovery efforts.
Hubbell has served as chair of the Iowa Power Fund Board since being appointed by Culver in 2007. He will continue to serve on the board as the representative of IDED. In addition, Hubbell was appointed co-chair of the Iowa Disaster Collaborative, which raised millions of dollars on behalf of those affected by last year’s natural disasters.
Hubbell was chairman of insurance and asset management for ING Group, a Netherlands-based banking, insurance and asset management company. He retired from ING Group’s executive board in April 2006.
Hubbell was formerly chairman, president and CEO of Equitable of Iowa Cos., an insurance holding company founded by his family. Hubbell served in various capacities with Equitable of Iowa Companies since 1983.
“The history of the Hubbell family runs parallel to the history of Iowa, and I am honored that someone with Fred’s experience, integrity and commitment to our state will serve in this key position,” Culver said in a statement. “Fred’s leadership will help us ensure that proper oversight is in place for IDED programs. And he will play a vital role in our work to support business and job opportunities to help Iowa work our way out of the economic recession.”
An investigation into the film tax credit program is currently underway, headed up by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Auditor David Vaudt. The Legislative Oversight Committee is also considering their own investigation, and will discuss the idea at a meeting on Thursday.
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