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.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has confirmed to The Des Moines Register that he will oppose the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term.
Harkin joins a diverse group of senators who have publicly said they would oppose Bernanke’s confirmation, which includes Republicans like John McCain of Arizona and Jim DeMint of South Carolina, but also Democrats like Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Barbara Boxer of California.
From The Register:
Harkin said Bernanke enabled the financial and mortgage meltdowns of recent years by catering to big financial institutions and not requiring them to behave more responsibly.
“I’m going to vote against Ben Bernanke to continue chairing the fed,” Harkin said in a Des Moines Register interview. …
… Harkin said Bernanke has been too lenient on financial institutions in not requiring them to trim compensation for executives or include low-interest loans for small businesses and renewable energy as part of the taxpayer-funded bailout
Specifically, Harkin cited the Sept. 2008 bailout of insurance giant AIG as particularly permissive.
On a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said he wasn’t sure how he would vote on Bernanke.
Follow Jason Hancock on Twitter
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