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.
Democrats in the Iowa House raised the specter of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s past drug use in an attempt to combat Republican criticism of labor legislation that will be debated this week.
The bill in question is House File 530, which would change the workers compensation system to permit employees injured on the job to choose the doctors who treat them. A public hearing on the measure is scheduled for Tuesday night and both supporters and opponents expect a contentious debate.
On the House Democratic Caucus’ Twitter page a comment was posted to combat one Republican criticism of the measure, that it would promote “doctor shopping,” where a worker looks for a physician who will give them a diagnosis they are looking for. The Democrats brought up Limbaugh’s 2006 admission that he illegally received prescriptions to OxyContin and other painkillers from 1998 to 2002 from several doctors. From the Tweet:
Doctor shopping…is this what ABI means? http://tinyurl.com/boc5dh
The ABI mentioned is the Association of Business and Industry, which has launched a series of radio ads in Iowa opposing the choice of doctor legislation.
Democrats nationally, including President Barack Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, have been calling the controversial radio star the de facto leader of the Republican Party ever since his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Convention where he reiterated his hope that the new president fails. The Democratic National Campaign Committee even launched a Web site parodying recent apologies to Limbaugh from prominent Republicans who had criticized him publicly.
It appears the strategy, which has had some success nationally, is working its way to the state level.
A public hearing on the choice of doctor bill will be held Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. the chamber of the Iowa House. Currently, 35 states have some form of employee choice of doctor, including all of Iowa’s surrounding states except Missouri.
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