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.
State Auditor David Vaudt, in interviews with the Associated Press and The Des Moines Register, said the state will be forced to make cuts in education funding and Medicaid in order to balance the budget.
Many observers are predicting a budget deficit of more than $500 milllion, but Vaudt said he expects the shortfall to be closer to $600 million, forcing legislators to make difficult decisions when they convene next month.
“You can’t take education and Medicaid – which are probably 75 percent of the budget – and say, ‘I’m not going to touch those,’ because if you only have 25 percent left, you’re going to have to essentially wipe out a lot of other things,” Vaudt, a Republican, said.
Most legislators don’t understand the severity of Iowa’s budget problem, Vaudt said, adding that for several years legislators have been spending more than the state takes in, then making up the difference by draining reserve funds.
Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal told the Register that is confident that key areas of education and Medicaid would be left intact, saying that it’s easy for Vaudt to suggest deep cuts in these programs since he isn’t concerned with the ramifications to individual Iowans.
Vaudt “doesn’t need to care whether or not a family has access to health care. All he has to do is look at a balance sheet,” Gronstal said.
The legislature reconvenes Jan. 12.
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