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.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) will easily admit the 2011 Legislative session was a difficult one, amid policy gridlocks, vehement disagreements and even accusations from Gov. Terry Branstad that Gronstal had “lost control of his caucus.”
However, Gronstal told The Iowa Independent he is confident about running a successful campaign come next year, when he will face re-election to the Senate. But a political rival will not be the only battle.
Friday, Conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats — who led a charge last year resulting in the ousting of three Iowa Supreme Court Justices — said while he does not know if his Christian Conservative organization The Family Leader will lead a charge to unseat Gronstal, he knows the group “will play a role” in such an effort.
“We will do everything possible to defeat Sen. Gronstal and take back the (Iowa) Senate,” Vander Plaats said. “It’s the same as it was with the three (Supreme Court) Justices (last year): When people shut off the voice of the people, as Sen. Gronstal has, they need to be held accountable.”
Vander Plaats said as the elections near, one will likely see the “coalescing of a broad spectrum of conservatives” in Iowa.
“2012 will be a good year for conservatives,” he said.
Mike Gronstal
“I will do what I always do: Reach out to the people I serve, make phone calls and knock on doors,” he said Sunday evening, adding Vander Plaats’s efforts “will not be terribly effective.”
This election could be more difficult for Gronstal. Nebraska Dr. LeRoy Carhart said last year he intended to cross the Missouri River and open a medical facility that would provide, among other things, late-term abortions in Gronstal’s hometown of Council Bluffs. Gronstal has openly admitted to not personally liking abortion, but has voted against measures that would further restrict abortion regulations in the state of Iowa. However, he came under fire in this past session when two Democrats broke caucus to force an abortion bill to the floor debate.
The role of abortion and how it shaped the past Legislative session could play a major role in who returns to the golden dome next winter — and who does not.
“Abortion is an issue that has deeply divided our society for 40 years,” Gronstal said. “It could impact elections, I guess, but it depends on individual districts.”
Vander Plaats may have been rejected three times by voters in bids to serve as governor, but he does have a recent record of out-of-state fundraising and rallying religious conservatives to back up his organization’s effectiveness. Vander Plaats, of Sioux City, led the effort to oust three state Supreme Court Justices up for retention. The Justices — former Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, and David Baker and Michael Streit — were part of unanimous 2009 ruling to legalize same-sex marriage in Iowa; Vander Plaats maintains the justices stepped over their constitutional boundaries.
With a endorsement considered among one of top 10 to nab nationally among Republicans, and a social pledge signed by at least two presidential candidates to ensure a possible nod from his organization, the western Iowa Conservative’s efforts next year — lead or otherwise — could carry the same momentum they did in 2010.
Justice David Wiggins, who was also part of the Varnum v. Brien ruling, will stand for retention next fall. Again, Vander Plaats said The Family Leader “has not made the determination to lead the charge or help with the charge” to also oust Wiggins from the bench, but does anticipate his future on the Supreme Court will be on notice among conservative groups.
“They will target Wiggins,” he said.
Vander Plaats has previously launched efforts to raise money to go toward future judicial retention votes.
A message left for Wiggins Sunday was not immediately returned.
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