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.
Gay and lesbian couples in New Hampshire have had the right to enter into civil marriages since 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1. This week, however, there are two bills before the legislature that seek to end such marriage equality.
Democratic state Rep. James Splaine of Portsmouth sponsored the state’s original legislation that provided for civil unions in 2008, and likewise supported a measure last year that provided full marriage equality.
“We have won to this point by remaining positive. We have won by telling our stories and showing our faces,” Splaine wrote in a guest piece on Blue Hampshire. “We have won by asking people the simple question: Just why should we discriminate?”
Two items, which were the subject of January public hearings, will be up for a full vote by the New Hampshire House Wednesday:
In New Hampshire, unlike Iowa, a three-fifths vote of each chamber would be enough to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010. Two-thirds of those voting would need to approve the change before it would be adopted.
“The votes on Wednesday will again be close,” warned Splaine. “Our opponents want to beat us. I think we’ll win, and we have done many things during the past three months to maintain our victory.”
Since full marriage equality went into effect in New Hampshire, roughly 300 same-sex couples have been married, according to Splaine. Roughly 1,000 additional couples were joined in civil unions prior to the expansion of rights last year.
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