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.
Democrat Dave Loebsack has launched a redesigned campaign web site which, while mentioning campaign events, keeps its focus on Loebsack’s re-election strategy of emphasizing his work during his first term.
The previous version of the site had been mostly unchanged since a thank you message on the front page following Loebsack’s November 2006 win. The new site keeps the “Our Voice for Change” slogan Loebsack used in 2006.
Loebsack’s campaign strategy in his first re-election effort has been largely, as he put it, to “do my job.” Though he did make a third trip to Iraq in his role on the Armed Services Committee, most of Loebsack’s work since June has has been on flood relief,
His main opponent, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks, has attacked that effort, and the Democratic Congress, for not passing a flood relief bill sooner. But sudden changes in negotiations between Democratic leadership and the White House mean a vote could come as soon as today.
The Miller-Meeks campaign is also critical of reports yesterday that Loebsack disposed of a donation from ethically embattled House Ways and means Chair Charles Rangel. Loebsack donated the $5,000 from Rangel’s political action committee to various flood relief charities.
“When he’s in Washington and he thought constituents aren’t watching, Dave Loebsack voted against investigating Charles Rangel’s alleged tax avoidance and other possible violations when he should have been voting for flood relief for Iowans,” siad campaign spokesman Eric Woolson in a press release. “He voted to block that investigation because he wants to protect the status quo, not clean up Washington’s problems.”
Loebsack and Miller-Meeks also face Green candidate Wendy Barth and independent Brian White on the ballot.
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