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.
The National Rifle Association is threatening to take action against two Iowa communities that have proposed or enacted bans on carrying firearms on public property, saying they violate the U.S. Constitution, The Des Moines Register’s Jason Clayworth reports.
West Burlington has a ban on carrying weapons in municipal buildings and Hancock County is contemplating a similar proposal.
The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that prohibitions on carrying firearms in “sensitive places” might be permissible, but has never sanctioned broad firearms bans in any public structure, the rifle association said in its letter to Hancock Supervisors. Hancock County Sheriff Scott Dodd said his original goal was simple: to prohibit people from bringing guns into the courthouse. He said the proposed ordinance went beyond his original intentions and said it’s likely he’ll push for a narrower version. “We don’t bring guns to schools so we’re protecting teachers and students, but why are people in my courthouse or courtroom to be treated any less?” Dodd said.
While gun-rights advocates are worried that stricter laws will prevail in the Hawkeye State, nationally, it appears they have little to fear from the Obama administration, according to Sahil Kapur of our sister site, The Washington Independent.
Despite fears on the right that Obama would trample the Second Amendment and take people’s guns, his presidency has so far been marked by a string of pro-gun victories and a reinvigorated gun advocacy movement — the result of a Democratic leadership that has proven unwilling to take on powerful firearm interests.
“It’s been very clear that there’s a solid pro-gun, pro-NRA majority on the floor of Congress, and you can’t do anything against it,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), a gun control advocate who has received an “F” grade from the National Rifle Association, told TWI. “And that’s the entire Republican Party and a fraction of the Democratic Party, which is a majority.”
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