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.
It’s a tricky thing, getting 60 votes for a renewable energy standard in the U.S. Senate. As of Thursday, the RES had 25 co-sponsors, including Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. While that’s not shabby, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said the bill, proposed by Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., needs to have the air-tight support of 60 senators before he’ll bring it to the floor.
Environmentalists and renewable energy advocates say they are confident they can get to 60 votes. But here are a couple road blocks that they’ll have to avoid:
-Republicans likely won’t vote for a bill if Reid tries to attach other energy provisions to it.
-Liberal Democrats will likely pull their support if Republicans try to broaden the scope of the RES to include so-called clean coal or nuclear.
-Amendments: RES proponents are worried that a floor debate could get weighed down by Republican amendments.
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