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.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain, once seen as more maverick than James Garner himself, is again burnishing those credentials with great peril to his political fortunes in Iowa.
McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, unabashedly supports an immigration reform package that many conservatives in Iowa believe smacks of amnesty.
In a conference call just minutes ago with Iowa Independent and other media, McCain said this issue separates him from a crowded GOP presidential field.
“I note with some interest that I’m the only one of the 10 candidates that supports this proposal,” McCain said. “I’m proud to have been a part of it not only for months but for years.”
He added, “I believe that if you are opposed to this plan and this piece of legislation then you have the obligation to propose something of your own.”
McCain said it is unacceptable to have "broken borders" and an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the nation.
“It’s our obligation to do the hard things,” McCain said.
McCain cited a CBS News-New York Times poll that showed support nationally for an immigration deal that would allow those here illegally before Jan. 1 to obtain legal status if they pay fines and stay out of criminal troubles.
According to that poll:
Two-thirds of those polled said illegal immigrants who had a good employment history and no criminal record should gain legal status as the bill proposes, which is by paying at least $5,000 in fines and fees and receiving a renewable four-year visa.
Many Republican lawmakers have rejected this plan, calling it amnesty that rewards immigrants who broke the law when they entered the United States. But the poll showed that differences are not great between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, with 66 percent of Republicans in the poll favoring the legalization proposal, as well as 72 percent of Democrats and 65 percent of independents.
But while that may be the case nationally, western Iowa is a land represented by perhaps the king critic (U.S. Rep. Steve King)
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