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.
President Barack Obama took the stage at The University of Texas at Austin Monday afternoon to outline a higher education plan that stresses affordability, retention and career readiness.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks on higher education at the University of Texas (Photo: whitehouse.gov)
Obama pointed to the increase in global competition for education, highlighting the nation’s sliding standing from first in the world one generation ago to 12th today. The president called for 8 million more college graduates by 2020 to help the country climb back to the top.
“Our competition is growing fiercely,” he said. “It is unacceptable but not irreversible. If we are serious, we can take the lead. By 2020 I want America to have the highest share of graduates compared to other any nation.”
Contributing to the strategy, Obama said, are administration programs such as the Early Education Fund and the Race to Top initiative, a program that lends financial incentives to schools that prepare students for higher education. Iowas has twice been denied the funds.
Affordability, namely student loan debt, has been a major point of interest for Obama, who evoked his personal experiences with college loans. The amount of student loan debt has risen almost 25 percent in the past five years, he said. In 2008, students graduated from Iowa’s Regent universities with loans averaging $28,174 tagged to their futures, the second highest average among all 50 states. At Iowa State University, students graduate owing an average of $30,000.
The president’s plan seeks to ensure banks will no longer serve as middlemen and receive billions in subsidies. Instead of handing over $60 billion over next decade, he said, the money will be redirected to nearly 8 million students and families, lending $10,000 over four years of college. Obama mentioned Austin-area Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tx.), who was in attendance, as a champion of the $2,500 per year tax credit. Doggett has also been pushing legislation that would prevent the diversion of federal funds from Texas schools to other purposes.
Additionally, Obama said, Pell Grants will keep up with inflation and rising tuition costs. The president also said he will seek to simplify financial aid forms, a process that has long been regarded as complicated and tedious.
The second part of the president’s higher education strategy proposes to promote career preparedness at large institutions, as well as community colleges, and the final component promotes graduation rates. More than a third of college students and more than half of minorities don’t earn a degree, said Obama.
“We not only want to open doors for American students, but make sure that they stick with it through graduation,” he said.
Obama countered claims that his push for education reform is deterring from plans for economic repair and underscored that the two are highly interrelated.
“A country that out-educates us will out-compete us,” he said. “[Education] is a prerequisite for prosperity.”
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