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.
State Rep. Chris Rants, R-Sioux City, announced Thursday that he will abandon his campaign for governor, leaving three men seeking the GOP nomination to take on Gov. Chet Culver.
“Last fall it became evident that my campaign was a long shot,” Rants said in a statement. “I continued out of a belief that campaigns should be about issues and ideas, and it was worth the effort to shape the public debate around issues that concern my supporters and me. It is now clear that those opportunities for such a debate are not materializing, and I cannot in good conscience accept or solicit support for an effort I know will be ultimately unsuccessful.”
Former Gov. Terry Branstad, state Rep. Rod Roberts and businessman Bob Vander Plaats are left in the GOP primary.
Since launching his gubernatorial bid last summer, Rants logged nearly 55,000 miles traveling around the state discussing his policy positions. But his campaign raised just $78,000 in 2009 and had $6,400 on hand at the end of December, far behind his Republican rivals. Despite insisting that he in the governor’s race for the duration and won’t seek re-election to the Iowa House, many believed Rants’ departure from the race was a matter of “when” not “if.”
“At the start of this campaign I said it was ‘up or out,’” he said. “That hasn’t changed. I honestly don’t know what the future holds for me, except that there will be no more missed school concerts, plays or gymnastics tournaments.”
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