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.
Nearly 70 percent of Iowa’s small business owners want a public option for health insurance, according to a survey by advocacy group Small Business Majority.
The group surveyed 200 small business owners in the Hawkeye State and found that only 37 percent offer health insurance coverage to their workers. Of the 63 percent who do not, three-quarters say it is because they can’t afford it.
Of the businesses that offer insurance, 71 percent say they’re struggling to do so. Seventy-six percent say more entrepreneurs would start businesses if they didn’t face those obstacles to coverage.
Sixty-nine percent of small business owners surveyed want a choice between a private plan and a government-managed health care option, like Medicare. Of those who responded, 36 percent identified themselves as Republican, 23 percent as Democrat and 35 percent as independent. The survey included owners of Iowa companies with fewer than 100 employees as well as sole proprietors.
The debate over a public option has become the focal point of dissention for Republicans and many in the business community. Opponents see it as a slippery slope to a national health insurance system like those found in Canada and much of Western Europe. Supporters say the government is the only entity that will have the leverage to force cost controls and other reforms.
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