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 Iowa Catholic Conference, the political and policy arm of the state’s four Catholic dioceses, announced Monday that it is urging Iowans to convene a constitutional convention in order to eventually ban same-sex marriage.
“The ICC is encouraging Iowa Catholics to vote ‘yes’ on the decennial ballot question as a way to work with others for a marriage amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would affirm the traditional understanding that marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” said the group Call the Convention* in a press release, later adding: “For far too long, the Iowa legislature has denied the people of Iowa their voice on issues such as traditional marriage, spending limits, tax reform, term limits, and Second Amendment rights. ”
Every 10 years, Iowa voters get a chance to remake the state’s government through the constitutional convention. In 2000, the last time Iowans voted on whether the state should convene a constitutional convention, only about 32 percent supported it. However, following last year’s Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage, many conservatives began openly advocating for a convention to be called as a quick method to reverse the ruling.
A push to call a convention this year has some high-profile Republican supporters, including Chuck Laudner, a former executive director of the Republican Party of Iowa and chief of staff for 5th District U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron; Robert Haus, a veteran Republican strategist who helped orchestrate the 2007 Iowa Straw Poll in Ames; Brent Hoffman, a former member of Sioux City’s city council; Patti Brown, a partner in the Iowa Policy Institute; and Craig Robinson, a conservative blogger and former political director of the Republican Party of Iowa.
According to Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson, the Catholic Conference is not getting involved in the effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices. As reported earlier Monday, the Catholic group Knights of Columbus is pouring millions into the National Organization for Marriage, a group that has been active around the nation trying to deny marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.
* The original story incorrectly attributed a quote to an ICC press release when it in fact came from a Call the Convention release.
Follow Jason Hancock on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter