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.
Former “water-tester” and new presidential candidate Fred Thompson stopped in Cedar Rapids this morning to talk and shake hands with supporters at the Marriott Hotel.
In this 3-minute video, Iowa County Supervisor Ray Garringer and his son Bryson Garringer talk about the impact of Thompson’s entry into the Republican presidential race. Also hear some of Thompson’s ideas on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Thompson gave few specifics in his 25-minute speech, not surprising for a campaign that is officially only three days old, but he was well-received by the nearly 300 in attendance.
The audience applauded his analysis of border security, which is “a matter of a lack of will, rather than lack of ability.”
They laughed and applauded his comments on the recent videotaped message from Osama bin Laden. Thompson said bin Laden reminds us, “that we need to kill him as soon as we can.”
But Thompson, taking a longer view, also said Bin Laden’s reemergence this week reminds us that we have a “global problem” and we shouldn’t “inject personalities into this to the extent that it takes our eye off the ball. If we get Osama, there will be another one.” He warned those in attendance that the hidden al-Qaeda leader’s death won’t “solve the problem … This is a bigger problem. This is a bigger issue.”
Other issues Thompson mentioned in his speech were waste in governmental agencies, including the Pentagon; and the condition of the U.S. Congress, which he says is “more divided, more acrimonious, and more looking out for the next election than the next generation.”
Thompson also made a campaign stop a few hours later in Davenport.
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