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.
Flood levels for the Skunk River and Squaw Creek in Ames will crest at record levels Wednesday, surpassing the historic floods of 1993 and inundating the city and the campus of Iowa State University.
The Skunk River was forecast to reach a 27-foot crest at the U.S. Highway 30 river gauge by 1 p.m. Wednesday, nearly two feet higher than 1993. Squaw Creek at Lincoln Way is predicted to crest at 18.5 feet by noon, the same as the 1993 level. As a result, Hilton Coliseum, home of the Iowa State basketball teams, is surrounded by water, according to The Des Moines Register.
Shortly after reaching Hilton Coliseum, it didn’t take long for Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly to see the basketball floor amid what he estimated to be 8 feet of water.
“It was floating,” Fennelly told Des Moines Register sports writer Randy Peterson. “It’s really bad what’s happening; it’s sad.
“This is my 19th year in Ames. I can easily say that it’s the worst flooding I’ve ever seen.”
Interstate 35 and Highway 30 near Ames, along with several other state highways, are closed due to flooding, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The Ames Tribune is tracking local street closings on its website.
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