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.
The 10th annual HIV/AIDS Conference next week in Des Moines will emphasize care, prevention and public awareness.
“Sometimes people think it’s not going to happen to me because I live in Iowa,” said Patricia Young, HIV/AIDS/Hepatitis program coordinator with the Iowa Department of Public Health. “Sometimes until you know somebody who is living with HIV, it’s hard to understand it.”Iowans diagnosed with HIV infections last year rose to the highest level since reporting began in 1998, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.
About 300 people are expected to attend the two-day conference, “Unity and Diversity: The Challenge for Change,” on June 3-4 at the Des Moines Airport Holiday Inn. The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. both days. Prospective attendees include health professionals, people living with HIV, community advocates and volunteers, among others.
The keynote speaker is Mindy Thompson-Fullilove, a research psychiatrist from the New York State Psychiatric Institute and professor of clinical psychiatry and public health at Columbia University. She has conducted research on AIDS, poor communities, and the connection between the collapse of communities and declining health. She will discuss overcoming societal and other barriers to bring people together.
More than two dozen sessions will cover a variety of topics, which include new prevention and care efforts using the Internet, reversing the HIV epidemic among gays, and AIDS and the black church. Other conference topics include HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevention and care; helping people change risky behaviors; developing and strengthening community partnerships; and care and treatment options.
One of the sessions will emphasize the need for family doctors to offer HIV testing during routine patient visits to help “normalize” HIV tests, Young said.
“Hopefully, this will decrease the stigma,” Young said.
The conference, which also includes information about hepatitis infections, is still accepting registrations.
“We wanted to make this conference very practical,” she said. “We really wanted to have some honest conversations about this and how it affects Iowans.”
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter