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.
Blogger Mike Stark, who has been asking congressional leaders who oppose health care reform on camera about the specific demographics of their own districts, caught up with U.S. Rep. Steve King, the Republican who represents Iowa’s 5th Congressional District.
When asked if how many people residing in his district were uninsured, King responded that the people of the 5th district “want freedom.”
An August 2009 study by the Economic Research Service Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture documented that roughly 13 percent of all individuals living in the Midwest had no current health care insurance. The study also noted that although there were no statistical disparities between rural and urban in coverage or levels of health expenditures, rural residents earn less than residents of urban areas and, therefore, often spend larger portions of their income on health care.
Among all farm-operator households, according to the study, 14 percent of all members did not have health insurance during 2007, and that lack of insurance coverage was higher (20 percent for non-elderly and 6 percent for elderly populations) for members of households in which farming was the primary occupation of the operator.
More of Stark’s series can be found on his website.
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