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.
Former Iowa Sen. Jeff Angelo will hold a series of three press conferences next week to formally launch a new group aimed at highlighting conservative support for civil marriage equality.
Angelo, who at one point supported a complete ban on same-sex marriage, told current lawmakers earlier this year that he had a change of heart.
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“I have changed my position,” he told a packed House chamber at the public hearing on House Joint Resolution 6, which not only would ban same-sex marriage, but also deny state recognition of civil unions and other domestic partnerships.Jeff Angelo
“The purpose of our Constitution is to protect the rights of individuals, and it does so by limiting government’s powers to control the lives and properties of our citizens,” Angelo said. “The resolution before you places pro-active legislative language in our Constitution meant to limit the ability of a select group to be civilly joined in marriage. It does not restrain government intrusion in the lives of law-abiding Iowans, and therefore violates the very purpose of the Iowa Constitution.
“Let me also say that the tenor of the debate has become such that it does not serve the people of Iowa well an is not in keeping with an Iowa culture that is known nationwide for displaying both respect and generosity of spirit,” Angelo said. “This debate centers around the devaluation of the lives of a select group of people. At its worst, we are asked to believe that our gay friends are involved in a nefarious debate, the outcome of which, supposedly is the unraveling of society itself.”
In prepared remarks distributed to the media, Angelo said countries that seek to use secular law to enforce religious principle “are not free” – a contrast to the remarks of many of the amendments supporters. …
The new organization, “Iowa Republicans for Freedom,” will be launched during a press conference on the State Capitol Grounds (West Capitol Terrace, near intersection of Locus and Pennsylvania) at 11 a.m. on June 1. Angelo will follow that press conference with two more on June 2 at Cedar Rapids in Greene Square park in downtown at 10 a.m. and in Davenport at the public library at 3 p.m.
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