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.
Sally Pederson has an opportunity to continue the philanthropic work she began while serving as Iowa’s lieutenant governor. Today she was seated as one of three new representatives on the Northwest Area Foundation’s board of directors.
Pederson will join Natalie Camacho Mendoza, an attorney from Boise, ID, and Sarah Vogel, an attorney from Bismarck, N.D., as new members on the board. Those continuing as members of the board are Daniel Kemmis of Montana, Dorothy Bridges of Minnesota, Father Kevin McDonough of Minnesota, Louis Fors Hill of Minnesota, Elouise Cobell of Montana, Patricia Jensen of Minnesota, Sandra Vargas of Minnesota, Elsie Meeks of South Dakota and William Thorndike, Jr. of Oregon. Leaving the board are Iowan Cornelia Butler Flora, who served as chair, and Humberto Fuentes of Idaho.
The Northwest Area Foundation is dedicated to helping communities reduce poverty for the long term. The foundation works on strategic projects with a small number of rural, urban and American Indian reservation communities, and the organizations supporting these efforts. It serves an eight state region made up of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Although the eight states are contiguous, history, more than bonds of population or geography, bring them together into Northwest Area Foundation’s service area. These states were served by the Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill. In 1934, Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill, established the foundation.
By the late 1990s, the foundation had been operating as a traditional grant-maker for nearly 50 years. Directors sifted through several thousand requests a year to make about 120 grants in 39 categories. Then, in 1998, after more than a year of reflection, study and strategic planning, the board of directors and senior management decided to focus the mission on long-term poverty reduction. This, the group reasoned, would allow existing financial and human assets to achieve a greater impact.
Leaders also decided upon an innovative approach — to work directly with communities by providing financial resources and technical assistance to help with achieve four critical outcomes:
Pederson served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor from 1998 to 2006, during which time she advocated for people with disabilities, health care coverage for children and insurance coverage for mental health. In 2003, Pederson received the John F. Sanford Award from the Iowa Medical
Society for her efforts in improving the quality of health care in Iowa. As lieutenant governor, Pederson initiated and chaired the Iowa Committee on Diversity. She served as state Democratic Party leader until November 2006. Pederson holds a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University.
Since 1999, the foundation has invested approximately $193 million in community-based poverty-reduction programs. It expects to invest an estimated $75 million within the next two years, at which time it will have completed its first 10 years of operations under a community-based program model.
The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant requests. For more information, visit the foundation website or phone (651) 224-9635.
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