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.
Des Moines-based conservative nonprofit the American Future Fund is spending big in tight Congressional races around the country in the hopes of tipping the balance to the Republican.
The group says it’s spending $4 million in 13 districts, including spending $500,000 against Mark Schauer in Michigan, $325,000 against Mike Oliverio in West Virginia and $250,000 against Martin Heinrich in New Mexico. All the ads are identical and spend more time attacking Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for the federal stimulus and health care reform legislation.
American Future Fund is made up of numerous state and national Republicans, most of which have ties to Terry Branstad’s gubernatorial campaign and Mitt Romney’s 2008 Iowa Caucus campaign. As a 501(c)4 nonprofit, it does not have to disclose its donors. Following a recent round of attacks against him, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, R-Waterloo, called on his GOP opponent, Ben Lange, to return a $5,000 donation from the group’s political action committee. He also suggested the donation could be a violation of campaign finance law.
From the Waterloo Courier:
In a timeline Friday, Braley’s campaign said the initial American Future Fund TV ad was launched one day after Lange’s campaign criticized the Democrat’s comments on the issue. It also noted the American Future Fund’s radio ad began airing the same day as the PAC’s endorsement was announced
Braley’s campaign said the similarities in tone and timing between American Future Fund’s attacks and Lange’s have been “suspiciously similar.”
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