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.
Iowa’s political activists will meet — for the first time ever on a Saturday — this weekend to begin the state’s 2010 caucus-to-convention process. Even without speculation of crowded primaries being decided at convention or winnowing of a presidential field, there’s still a lot of work to be done by local activists.
The move of the caucus to Saturday was a decision made by both Iowa Democrats and Republicans in hopes of increased attendance at the non-presidential event. Despite outrage from those religious groups that hold Saturday as their Sabbath, the Saturday caucus is viewed as experimental by the state parties, and its success or failure will likely be linked with attendance and participation.
Iowans who wish to participate in the precinct caucuses need not be pre-registered as either a Democrat or Republican. Voter registration forms will be available at the individual caucus sites. However, those who need to register before participating should arrive at least 15 minutes before the 1 p.m. start time to allow for paperwork completion.
Iowa Republicans have placed their full list of caucus locations on their Web site, and the Democratic Party has a tool on their site that will search caucus locations by address.
Those in attendance will set delegates for upcoming county conventions, which will, in turn, feed delegates into conventions at the Congressional district and state levels. Members will also be selected to begin the party’s platform process, which is often more contentious than the ongoing conventions.
Delegates to the county convention who are then elected to be delegates to the district conventions, will elect key individuals to serve on the party’s state central committee.
Those who attend the precinct caucuses will also vie for positions on county-level central committees, which provide support and direction for a wealth of local and county candidates as well as those who want to serve in the legislature. These individuals can also go on to serve on central committees at the district level.
For Republicans in particular, there is the possibility of the later conventions, populated during the precinct caucuses, to determine the party’s gubernatorial, 2nd Congressional District and 3rd Congressional District nominees. That is, if none of the candidates seeking the party’s nomination receive 35 percent on the June primary ballot, the nominee will be chosen at convention. The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate also has a possibility, albeit remote, to be resolved at convention.
Only fully qualified political parties in Iowa — currently Democrats and Republicans — hold official caucuses. Other groups identified in Iowa law as “political organizations,” such as the Green Party and Libertarian Party, may or may not conduct caucus events at the same time as the official caucuses.
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