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. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, has declared he will not run for a sixth term in the Iowa House and instead focus his efforts on his long-shot gubernatorial bid, according to Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV.
The announcement puts Roberts’ district, which has deep Democratic traditions and growing independent political orientation, up for grabs. House District 51 is made up of around 8,700 registered independents, more than 6,400 registered Democrats and only 4,800 registered Republicans.
Roberts decision comes on the heals of Republican state Rep. Chris Rants’ announcement last week that he will abandon his campaign for governor and won’t be seeking re-election in his House district. He was first elected to the legislature in 1992 and was House speaker from 2003 to 2006. Rants’ Sioux City district is almost evenly split between registered Democrats and Republicans, with both slightly outnumbered by independents.
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