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.
U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Mt. Vernon, has fired back at talk radio host and Fox News personality Glenn Beck over statements he made that called into question federal funds that went to the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids.
Beck listed the money for the museum in a list he called “a few examples of unbelievable waste being tolerated… Remember, this is your money.”
• $500,000 for exhibits at the Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids — what about the Serb, Croatian and Albanian exhibits? Don’t we care about them?
Loebsack wasted little time in responding to Beck.
“It is regrettable that in the current state of political discourse that ill-informed rhetoric is a hotter commodity than an understanding of the economic and recovery needs of ordinary Iowans,” Loebsack said in a statement. “While I applaud any effort to raise the issue of government waste, I must disagree with the assessment that funds to repair and renovate the flooded properties of the National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is wasteful.”
The museum was severely damaged during the floods of 2008, with estimated repair costs at $11 million.
“Just this evening the museum opened a new exhibit, ‘Rising Above the Flood – The Story of People and The Flood.’ The re-opening of buildings and exhibits represents the type of hard work and dedication to their community that Mr. Beck himself claims to admire,” Loebsack said. “Furthermore, the museum reopening carries the potential for job creation, further economic development, and increased tourism in Cedar Rapids.”
Liberal blogger John Deeth made a prediction of how Beck would likely respond.
I’m predicting Beck’s response: “If you rearrange the letters in Dave Loebsack, it spells ‘So Backed Veal’.” Which may cost him the PETA vote.
Loebsack said he will be sending Beck and his staff several copies of the DVD “In Deep Water: The Flood of 2008,” a documentary that highlights the devastation that Cedar Rapids, and the state of Iowa, suffered because of the floods.
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