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.
Incumbents were sharply rebuked Tuesday night in elections all over Iowa, matching a national trend that’s giving Republicans a glimmer of hope going into 2010.
Iowa’s municipal elections are non-partisan, so it will be hard for either party to claim victory. But after years of Democratic dominance of election night, an evening where most high-profile races saw incumbents roundly rebuked is being celebrated in Republican circles, even for races where it was Democrats doing the ousting.
Ron Corbett, who was elected last night as Cedar Rapids Mayor.
In Cedar Rapids, former Republican House Speaker Ron Corbett defeated City Councilman Brian Fagan to become the city’s mayor. While there was technically no incumbent in the race, Corbett ran a distinctly anti-incumbency campaign, focusing on the current city council’s “culture of delay.”
Indianola voters ousted Mayor Jack Kelley, who has led the suburb on Des Moines’ south side since 1995. Kelley came in third in a three-way race, with Kenan Bresnan, a Democrat, emerging victorious.
The long-time mayor of Pleasant Hill, Phil Hildebrand, a Democrat, also came in third place in a three-way contest, ending his 17-year tenure.
Norwalk voters overwhelmingly chose Doug Pierce over incumbent Mayor Pat Wahl. Pierce received more votes than his two competitors combined.
In Des Moines, 20-year incumbent councilman Tom Vlassis barely edged 23-year old Halley Griess, but not by enough to avoid a runoff Dec. 1.
Waukee incumbent Mayor Bill Peard managed to squeak out a victory against city councilman and Republican Central Committee member Isaiah McGee.
The Iowa Secretary of State released updated voter registration figures Tuesday as well. The figures showed Democrats continue to outnumber Republicans by more than 100,000 voters.
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