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.
A ban on smoking in casinos, an expansion electronic campaign finance filings and subpoena power for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission are among prefiled bills approved by their sponsors for release to the public.
Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, is proposing a bill that would expand the statewide smoking ban passed last session and end the law’s exemption for casinos. Supporters of the ban have long wondered about the fairness of the casino exemption, but legislative leaders have repeatedly said there will be no tinkering with the Smokefree Air Act in 2009.
Several bills have been prefiled dealing with campaign finance, among them a bill that would expand the definition of “express advocacy” to include any communication disseminated by radio, television or in print; any communication made 20 days or fewer before an election and any communication that costs $750 or more to produce. If passed, the changes would allow for more scrutiny on organizations that spend money trying to influence Iowa elections.
A total of 44 prefiled bills have been submitted, ranging from statewide writing assessment for school children to local control of hog confinements. A full list of the bills is available on the General Assembly’s Web site. The legislative session starts Jan. 12.
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