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.
More than $25 million in grants to increase and improve health and support services at health centers was announced Sunday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but don’t expect to see much of that flowing into Iowa.
Of the total grants, only two were awarded to Iowa health care providers:
The government also awarded grants in the areas of behavioral health and strategic planning (for areas without current health centers); but, despite a pronounced increase in behavioral health needs in rural America, no Iowa organizations were awarded grants in these two areas. The state receiving the most in behavior health care grants was California ($1,054,207), followed by Alaska ($387,500.)
The federal Health Center Program funds a national network of more than 1,100 community, migrant, homeless and public housing health center grantees. The organizations provide health care at clinical sites, which range from brick-and-mortar establishments to mobile units. They are overseen by the Health Resources and Services Administration, which falls under the umbrella of the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2008, the centers served more than 17 million — up from 10 million in 2001. By law, patients are accepted regardless of their ability to pay.
In Iowa, a total of 60 providers are affiliated with the Health Center Program, and many serve rural areas such as Chariton, Albia, Corydon, Leon and Lamoni.
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