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.
As the summer draws to a close and the Rebuild Iowa Commission delivers its recommendations to Gov. Chet Culver and the legislature, disagreements over the best course of action to take to deal with the massive flood damage seem to be popping up more and more.
The latest volley came from a group of Republican legislators who told The Des Moines Register that the state should cancel a planned $131 million maximum-security prison at Fort Madison and redirect that money toward flood recovery.
The group also made five other specific suggestions, including the cancellation of other projects such as an $80,000 repair to an antique musical organ in Clermont.
“We’re playing a guessing game on what the governor is going to do. Our constituents need help now,†said Rep. Kraig Paulsen, a Republican from Hiawatha. “Reallocating funds in the time of crisis is an absolute necessity because we don’t want to pile a fiscal disaster on top of a natural disaster.â€
Democratic lawmakers, unsurprisingly, were not as gung-ho about the plan.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Democrat from Des Moines, said the ideas are irresponsible and indicate Republicans are gearing up to play politics with critical recovery efforts.
McCarthy noted that cancellation of the prison would not immediately bring more money into the state. The loan payment for the prison will largely be paid from revenue of court fines. Those fines are currently being used to pay for previous prison improvements and won’t be available for at least three years, McCarthy said.
Meanwhile, members of the Rebuild Iowa Commission told the Associated Press that the legislature needs to act quickly to deal with the flooding, including a special session.
A special session is still possible, but the governor and legislative leaders will decide in the next few days if the state’s emergency needs can be met without one.
“There’s a 50-50 chance,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Many lawmakers have said that because the special session would be called so close to an election there is a strong likelihood that politics could rear its ugly head. That fact hurts the chances that a special session will be called.
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