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.
Gov. Chet Culver has been telling anyone who will listen that he intends for this budget crisis to be solved without a tax increase, but Rob Boshart at the Cedar Rapids Gazette has found one area where the governor’s actions may not match his words.
Under the budget proposal announced Monday, school aid would go up only 2 percent instead of 4 percent. However, Boshart reports halfway through his story this morning that the governor is still allowing school districts to increase spending authority by 4 percent for the 2009-10 school year. What could that mean?
Instead, the governor proposes to include a 2 percent boost in state funding and provide Iowa’s 364 school districts with spending authority to make up the difference from cash reserves, property tax levies or other sources.
So at the end of the day, there is a chance Culver’s plan could result in an increase in property taxes.
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