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.
One of three Democrats vying to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is calling on the veteran lawmaker to decline all contributions from federal lobbyists and political action committees (PACs).
Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin said in an e-mail to Grassley that the senior senator has accepted millions from “the pharmaceutical, insurance, oil and other industries could better serve Iowa if you donated them to charities helping the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs.”
“I would be glad to assist you and your staff in establishing the appropriate infrastructure to distribute those funds to Iowans who have fallen into poverty, whose homes are being foreclosed, and who have lost their health insurance,” she said.
Conlin has said she will raise at least $10 million without any funds from lobbyists or PACs. Her tenure as president of the American Trial Lawyers Association, as well as her share of the multi-million settlement of a 2007 class-action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., are two reasons why most observers believe she should have no problems achieving her fundraising goals.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Grassley has raised nearly $4 million for the 2010 election, with 48 percent coming from PACs. His top five largest donors by industry are health professionals, insurance, pharmaceuticals, lobbyists and hospitals/nursing homes.
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