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.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, responded Monday to attacks from Iowa Republicans who say transferring Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil is a “clear threat to national security.”
President Barack Obama has said he wants Guantanamo Bay facility by January. A nearly-empty Illinois prison near the Mississippi River on the border with Braley’s district is among U.S. locations being considered to house the detainees.
Caitlin Legacki, Braley’s communication director, said the congressman has met with officials from the White House, Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Bureau of Prisons to discuss the security implications associated with this proposal.
“Additionally, Congressman Braley believes the input of surrounding communities should be considered in this decision-making process,” Legacki said. “This decision should be made based on our national security interests and the safety and security of our citizens, not based on people trying to score political points.”
Earlier Monday, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn called on Braley to oppose the proposal to move the detainees to Illinois. That call was later joined by U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, who said if the terrorist were ever released “innocent people would die and some of them likely will be Americans.”
According to Federal Bureau of Prisons statistics, there are already 347 inmates in federal prisons convicted of international or domestic terrorism. Those include Richard Reid, known as the “shoe bomber,” Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the man behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Wadih El-Hage, Osama bin Laden’s former secretary, and Zacarias Moussaoui, who was convicted for his role in the 9/11 attacks.
Under the plan to shut down the Guantanamo Bay facility, only about 60 detainees would be transferred to Illinois.
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