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.
“We want to send the message to our lawmakers. Stop forcing cities to apply band-aids to something you are able to fix,“ said Matthew Covington, a community organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement.
In a bureaucratic spin on “don’t call us, we’ll call you,” the Department of Labor has notified a medical advocate for sick nuclear workers that he is no longer allowed to e-mail the federal program for information, a move he says is retribution for his outspoken criticism of the program’s failings.
There are taxpayer costs associated with the breakdown of the family, so overturning legalized same-sex marriage would go a long way to improve the nation’s sagging economy, according to Tamara Scott, one of several speakers at the National Organization for Marriage rally at the state Capitol Sunday afternoon.
“While we are mindful of the need to review claims and make sure that compensation is due, we also believe that many deserving claimants are encountering significant obstacles in this process — obstacles that we believe result in the delay or even denial of legitimate claims,” said a letter signed by Colorado Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennett, along with five members of state’s congressional delegation.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has officially asked the Department of Labor to reopen the medical compensation claim of Michael Fellinger, a former Ames Laboratory worker who died of lung disease in 2008, most likely caused by exposure to radiation as part of his work.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin will ask the U.S. Department of Labor to reopen the case of a deceased former Ames Laboratory worker who was denied medical compensation from the federal government. He will also push legislative fixes for the federal program that denied the claim, aides to the senator said Thursday.
“If I could say anything to Sen. Harkin, it would be, ‘Please start holding hearings,’” said Terrie Barrie, an advocate with the Alliance of Nuclear Worker’s Advocacy Groups.
Occupational health specialists around the country who work with claimants say they routinely have their opinions trumped by medical consultants with too little expertise and too much authority. They are calling for an independent oversight board to be established, either by congressional legislation or by the Department of Labor itself, to improve the claims process.
“The program strikes me as some stupid headless animal. Everyone involved seems to be standing in a circle, handing things around to the next person without taking any responsibility for it. The buck never stops anywhere,” said Bo Fellinger, who recently found out U.S. Department of Labor medical consultants denied her deceased husband Michael’s claim for compensation for chronic lung disease yet again.
“[The Government Accountability Office’s recommendations support [our] contention that program decisions are often arbitrary and capricious, and without scientific basis,” The Alliance of Nuclear Workers Advocacy Groups said in a statement.
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