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.
John Miller is reporting for the Associated Press that Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is reconsidering his decision to resign on Sept. 30. A spokesperson for the senator is citing legal reasons for the change of heart.
On Aug. 27 Roll Call reported that Craig had been arrested for lewd conduct in a men’s bathroom at a Minnesota airport on June 11, and that he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct on Aug. 8. As a result of the controversy surrounding his arrest and guilty plea, Craig announced his resignation from the Senate at a news conference three days ago on Sept. 1.
In other more important news, Mattel has issued its third toy recall.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Mattel announced the new recall just minutes ago. The recall includes roughly 700,000 Chinese-made toys that have excessive amounts of lead paint. Most are Barbie accessory toys that were manufactured between Sept. 30, 2006 and Aug. 20, 2007. It also includes 8,900 different toys from the Fisher-Price brand that were sold worldwide during July and August.
Lead can cause brain damage when ingested by young children.
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