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.
Washington, D.C., newspaper The Hill is reporting that Republican U.S. Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota will pool resources to co-hire a press secretary.
The two congressional conservatives have formed a close relationship in recent months as both made the fight against national health care reform a priority. Bachmann even floated King’s name as a potential presidential candidate in 2012. The Iowa Independent’s sister site in Minnesota documented five occasions where Bachmann has referred to King as “stunning.” The relationship goes back at least to 2008, when King’s press secretary left the congressman’s office to run Bachmann’s re-election campaign.
In fact, Bachmann was just in Iowa headlining King’s “Defenders of Freedom” forum.
From The Hill:
Sergio Gor, a Capitol Hill neophyte, was recently hired by Bachmann. He will soon join King’s office as a part-time staffer as well.
Both Bachmann and King, who have recently organized Tea Party rallies, already have full-time communication directors.
Some staffers call the move unprecedented because Gor will be handling press for two different lawmakers, getting paid from their personal offices as well as campaign funds.
Gor is sure to be a busy man, as King and Bachmann draw as much or more media attention individually as any other member of congress. The blog Bluestem Prairie has more background information on Gor, including his work as a 2008 John McCain campaign aide who was “assigned to assist [Sarah] Palin’s family in Alaska.”
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