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.
Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) will have some competition for his House seat come fall, House Democrats say. Cedar Rapids attorney Mark Seidl has thrown his hat into the ring. Seidl has previously run for the former Iowa House District 37 seat, against Rep. Renee Schulte (R-Cedar Rapids).
Mark Seidl
In a release from House Democrats, Seidl wasted no time in contrasting himself with his opponent, saying Iowa’s education standards are lowering and blame should be squarely placed on Paulsen, also an attorney, and Gov. Terry Branstad.
“While our schools, which used to be the best in the nation, are suffering funding cuts and our universities are increasingly out of financial reach for the children of working Iowans, our state is sitting on a billion dollars in surplus,” Seidl said, echoing the Senate Democrats’ mantra from this past session. “The men most responsible for the government’s failure to make that investment are Terry Branstad and Kraig Paulsen.”
Seidl is a Cedar Rapids native. He attended Creighton University for his undergrad and law degrees, and has been admitted to both the Iowa and Wisconsin state bars, as well as several Federal Courts and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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