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 Sioux City Journal’s Bret Hayworth reports that the race to replace former House Speaker Chris Rants in HD54 is shaping up, with Republican Ron Jorgensen announcing his candidacy Wednesday.
Rants, who is giving up his seat in order to run for the Republican nomination for governor, has been in office for 18 years including three years as House Speaker and two as minority leader. Woodbury County Democratic Party Chairman Dave Somsky told Hayworth that Carlos Venable-Ridley, who was defeated by Rants in 2008 by 14 percentage points, will run again in 2010. Rants said other Republicans may enter the race as well, and Sioux City businessman Steve Carlson said he is considering jumping in.
The western Iowa district is made up of 6,084 registered Republicans, 5,845 registered Democrats and 7,103 independents. With the veteran incumbent lawmaker and prolific fundraiser out, some political observers believe the district could become a targeted race for Democrats in 2010, although it would certainly be an uphill fight from the start.
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