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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.
Johnson County Republicans had an unusual problem Saturday: too many people wanting to be delegates to the district and state conventions.IOWA CITY — “We’ve never had this kind of problem before,” said Tiffin Mayor Royce Phillips, a longtime party activist. The issue wasn’t a fight between campaigns, as the Democrats expect at their county conventions next week. It was simply a matter of a lot of people wanting to move to the next level. “There’s a lot of new people who aren’t as familiar with the process, don’t know how it works,” said Phillips. “If you go to the state as an alternate, it’s a 99 percent chance you’ll get in.”
While the Republicans learned the time honored election system of Put Your Hand Down To Be An Alternate in order to get down to their allocated 78 delegates — no preference groups in the GOP — they heard from the three candidates in the 2nd Congressional District who are facing off in the June 3 primary for the right to take on freshman Democrat Dave Loebsack.
Ottumwa opthalmologist Mariannette Miller-Meeks focused almost her entire speech on health care, while Peter Teahen of Cedar Rapids touched on a broader set of issues. Teahen is a funeral director and Red Cross disaster relief expert, and said “Congress is the most complicated disaster I’ve ever witnessed.”
The third candidate, Lee Harder of Hillsboro (“I will work Harder for you”), stressed his experience in Washington politics in the Reagan era. “I’m the most conservative candidate for this office, I may be the only conservative candidate.”
There weren’t loads of signs in evidence, since school district rules restricted tape on the walls, but despite the lack of hoopla the delegates at Iowa City West High seemed satisfied with the GOP’s choice of John McCain. “I got my picture with him on the front page of the paper eight years ago,” said Sally Orr of Coralville, though she’s less than happy with how she looked.
Mike Thayer, also of Coralville, was a Fred Thompson guy, but says he’s fine with McCain. “He’s going to be the right man. National security is going to be the foremost issue.” Thayer is still undecided in the U.S. House race but said, “I’m pleased there’s three qualified candidates” against Loebsack.
Parts of heavily Democratic Johnson County are in legislative districts dominated by other, more Republican counties. One of those is House District 79, held by Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, R-Wilton. He devoted a large chunk of speech to attacking Michelle Obama’s ‘proud of my country’ remark. Circling back to actual statehouse issues, he said “We don’t apologize for tradition or the phrase old fashioned values.” Kaufmann wants the anti-gay marriage amendment and says “we can have our cake and eat it too” by loving individuals while defending, as he puts it, marriage.
The other Republican district in Johnson County is House 89, and retiring incumbent Sandy Greiner offered a valedictory speech. She said she decided to retire before the GOP lost the House majority in 2006, and her decision has more to do with wanting to do other things after 16 years.
One of those things will be running for the Republican National Committee at the state convention. “It’s easy to feel like your voice is not being heard here in Johnson County; we’re hearing you,” she told the delegates. Also in her plans: a big bonfire to trash the ancient college furniture her grown kids are storing in the garage.
Jared Klein of Keota hopes to succeed Greiner. He came off as a high-energy go-getter type at the podium, as he says “let’s cut the spending” and asking for money and other support at least twice in a two minute speech. Klein is expected to face Democrat Larry Marek of Riverside in the open seat race this fall.
Highlights of the draft Johnson County Republican platform included:
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