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.
Calling recent Republican attacks against her record an unnecessary distraction, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Tom Fiegen called on rival Roxanne Conlin to end her Senate campaign for the sake of “working Iowa families.”
On Tuesday, the Republican Party of Iowa and conservative group American Future Fund attacked Conlin, a Des Moines lawyer, for the $75 million in attorney’s fees awarded as part of the 2007 antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. Conlin served as co-lead counsel in the case.
Roxanne Conlin, left, and Tom Fiegen
Contrary to the attacks, though, the fees were not awarded solely to Conlin. They were set by a Polk County judge and went to pay 150 lawyers, law clerks and assistants who worked on the case at four different law firms over the course of the seven years. They also include $7.8 million the law firms spent on the case and a bank loan of $2 million taken out by Conlin.
Fiegen said Conlin’s “baggage” will continue to serve as ammunition for Republican attacks and as a distraction from the fact that “Sen. [Chuck] Grassley is part of the problem and not part of the solution for working Iowans.”
“The last thing we need is for another politician’s personal problems taking the focus off the needs of working families, and that is exactly what Ms. Conlin’s candidacy is unfortunately doing to this race,” Fiegen said. ”For the good of all Iowa working families, I am asking Ms. Conlin to reconsider her troubled candidacy.”
This isn’t the first time Conlin has been attacked by Fiegen, a former state senator and a bankruptcy attorney in Cedar Rapids. After her candidacy was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, Fiegen accused Conlin of “strong-arming” elected officials to support her.
Conlin spokesman Mark Daley called Fiegen’s attack “appalling.”
“Roxanne Conlin secured one of the largest investments in history for Iowa schools and more than 114,000 Iowans got cash in their pockets because of her seven years of hard work and leadership,” he said. “Tom Feigan’s constant, personal attacks show clear signs of desperation. His conduct is appalling and he should be ashamed of himself.”
Also running in the Democratic primary is Bob Krause of Fairfield.
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