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.
DES MOINES — Though Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad considers Texas Gov. Rick Perry “likely” to enter the 2012 presidential race, he and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will decline an invitation to Texas next month to attend Perry’s “The Response” event, a day of prayer for the nation.
“No, we aren’t making any plans to go,” Reynolds said Monday. “There was a conflict in scheduling. We aren’t planning on going.”
Branstad told the Associated Press over the weekend he believed it was likely the Texas Governor would enter the race, after the two men spoke a few days ago, and Perry had reportedly called Branstad for his opinion.
“The Response” is a Christian prayer event to take place in Texas Aug. 6. Perry invited all U.S. governors to attend the event, which is to occur in Houston. On the event website, Perry says the nation is in a state of crisis which can be assuaged by prayer.
“Some problems are beyond our power to solve, and according to the Book of Joel, Chapter 2, this historic hour demands a historic response,” Perry’s letter said. “Therefore, on August 6, thousands will gather to pray for a historic breakthrough for our country and a renewed sense of moral purpose.”
The event is being sponsored by the American Family Association, which helped successfully bankroll the Bob Vander Plaats’ effort to oust three Iowa Supreme Court justices in 2010. Many of the groups that donated toward the justice ouster, including AFA, were later designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center for their repeated use of discredited and often outrageous claims against homosexuals.
Prior to the Aug. 6 event, Perry sent letters to his fellow governors urging them to proclaim a day of prayer for the nation in each other their states; Branstad declined to make such a proclamation.
Perry has yet to make a formal decision regarding the 2012 race.
Branstad and his administration have yet to make any endorsements in the 2012 race. GOP candidate Mitt Romney, of Massachusetts, gave Branstad his endorsement in 2010 when Branstad sought his fifth gubernatorial term, and one of Branstad’s children worked for Romney during the last presidential campaign.
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