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.
Michigan’s calendar-jumping Jan. 15 primary is, at least for the moment, unconstitutional. In a bench ruling in Grebner v State, a lower court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the state to hold presidential primaries for the two major parties and then give the list of participants only to those two major parties and not make those lists public.
An immediate appeal is planned, but in the meantime the parties are considering their options. The Legislature, still in session, could amend the voter list portion of the law. The Detroit Free Press reports that Democrats could hold a “caucus” of sorts, which would include a vote by mail absentee process. Dates under consideration are Jan. 5 or 12 or Feb. 9. Republicans may hold county conventions on Jan. 17.Michigan also faces problems with its new voter ID law, reports the Free Press. In Tuesday’s local elections, complaints ran about 40% higher than the number of complaints usually received during higher turnout presidential or gubernatorial elections. The Detroit NAACP, Michigan ACLU, and other groups challenged the photo ID requirement earlier this year. “Voters are angry and confused,” said Butch Hollowell, general counsel for the Detroit NAACP.
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