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.
Lawyers for Arizona-based Alcor Life Extension Foundation have requested the Iowa Supreme Court review a July decision that gave siblings of an 81-year-old Iowa man final say in his remains.
Orville M. Richardson, 81, died in February and was buried shortly thereafter by his brother and sister, who had been named by the state as co-administrators of the estate. In 2004, however, Richardson purchased a $50,000 lifetime membership to Alcor and left written instructions that his “human remains be preserved by the cryogenic treatment known as cryonic suspension.” According to court documents, Richardson planned to have his head frozen in hopes that future technology could revive him.
David Richardson of Ohio and Darlene Broeker of West Burlington, siblings to Richardson, arranged for his burial and two months later demanded Alcor return the $50,000 it had been paid. Alcor then went to court to demand permission to exhume the body and fulfill Richardson’s wishes.
In mid-July District Court Judge John Linn ruled in favor of the siblings, saying that Iowa law allows families to control the final disposition of a loved one’s remains. The only exception is if the person in question issued a declaration of third-party or alternate designation after July 1, 2008.
The siblings, according to documents filed with the court, knew about Richardson’s plans for cryonics and “emphatically” disagreed with it. Richardson, who was a pharmacist, suffered from deteriorating health and dementia in late 2007 when he was hospitalized. The following spring, David Richardson and Broeker were named by the court as co-administrators, and Broeker was named as his guardian.
Throughout this time, Alcor issued interest checks to Richardson on the $50,000 prepayment he had made. After his death, the siblings found one check for nearly $2,500 and asked Alcor to reissue so it could be cashed. They also inquired if there were additional uncashed checks that belonged to their brother.
A cryonics procedure, according to Alcor, should begin within a few minutes of death. It is likely that, due to decomposition, that Richardson’s head is no longer suitable for the procedure he wanted.
Alcor has made its appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, which will now decide if it will hear the case.
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