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.
When the names of the 18 states that made the cut in a competition for federal “Race to the Top” education funding were read this morning, Iowa did not make the grade.
“While we were not chosen as a finalist, Iowa has a vision for reform that centers on students and preparing them for the many opportunities that await them beyond high school,” said Kevin Fangman, acting director of the Iowa Department of Education.
“As a result of this collaborative grant application effort, Iowa has developed a bold plan for the future of Iowa education. It is now time for us to look at the resources and partnerships we already have in place to move forward.”
Plans chosen as finalists hailed from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and the District of Columbia.
According to Fangman, the U.S. Department of Education has not yet provided information to the states on the possibility of another round of funding for the program. If such competitive funding does become available, the state department will decide at that time whether or not it will apply.
Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia applied for the second round of Race to the Top funding, which is expected to total $3.4 billion. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan acknowledged today that while all the finalists will come to Washington, D.C. to present their plans to peer reviewers, not all will be eventually awarded grants, since $1.34 billion has already been earmarked by Pres. Barack Obama for the administration’s fiscal 2011 budget.
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