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.
Two weeks ago, the anonymous gossip columnist for Des Moines alternative weekly Cityview had a few choice words for Matt Schultz, a Council Bluffs Republican running for Iowa secretary of state.
After smacking the Republican candidate for Iowa attorney general for saying she would focus on jobs in her campaign — a task beyond the scope of responsibility of the state’s chief law enforcement official — Civic Skinny, never one to mince words, took exception to Schultz saying almost the exact same thing in his campaign to unseat one-term incumbent Democrat Michael Mauro.
One reason the state-wide Democratic incumbents seem safe is because the Republicans don’t seem very good at picking opponents. They don’t seem to understand what they’re running for. …
Matt Schultz, the young Council Bluffs councilman who wants Michael Mauro’s job, has the same misunderstanding about what the secretary of state does. “I believe it is more important now than ever before that we elect a Secretary of State who will stand up and fight for Iowa jobs and free and fair elections.” The Secretary of State has nothing to do with fighting for Iowa jobs, of course; he oversees elections and keeps a huge database on Iowa corporations and businesses.
Schultz was none too pleased with the column and released a statement to the media Friday morning defending his campaign.
“What my critics and Mr. Mauro forget is that each business day the Secretary of State’s Office receives over 200 telephone calls and e-mails with business service related questions,” Schultz said. “In 2008, the Secretary of State’s office processed over 175,000 corporate and commercial documents and an additional 127,000 UCC filings.
“Even the Secretary of State’s Web site clarifies its duties stating that ‘the office of the Secretary of State is a now a service center for businesses in Iowa, the nation and the world and is committed to making sure Iowa remains a gateway for the world by being an advocate for Iowa business and products and making government more business friendly.’”
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