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 House voted 52-35 Friday morning to end debate on collective bargaining legislation at noon. The move comes after more than 24 hours of debate and discussion that has been going off and on since Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Democrats had introduced more than 100 amendments to House File 525, which among other things would force state workers to pay at least $100 a month toward their health insurance costs and end their right to have a voice in layoff procedures. It would also allow workers who don’t belong to a union to declare themselves “free agents” and negotiate their own deal with the state.
Immediately after voting to end debate, Republicans and Democrats went into closed-door caucuses. After the noon deadline, the House will vote on germane amendments and final passage of bill. The collective bargaining overhaul is certain to pass the Republican-controlled House, but with Democrats in control of the Senate by a 26-24 margin, the proposal has little chance of becoming law.
Live video of the debate is below.
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