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.
The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women is leading a bi-partisan effort to encourage more women to run for political office.
“Iowa has some notable gaps of women running for office,” said Rachel Scott, division administrator. “We can certainly do better here. This is just an event to draw attention to why women might not be running and what we can do to help.”
A press conference will be held at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the State Capitol, first-floor Rotunda. Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro, Des Moines City Councilwoman Christine Hensley and others are slated to speak at the event.
The high-profile presidential race between Democratic rivals Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has caused many people to consider issues of race and gender in politics. The dearth of women elected officials in Iowa compared to New Hampshire drew scorn from the national media and others after last January’s Iowa Caucuses.
“It was like `ouch,’” Scott said.
Iowa and three other states have never elected a woman to Congress or the U.S. Senate, including Vermont, Delaware and Mississippi. Iowa also has never elected a woman governor. The Iowa General Assembly has 34 women, or 22.7 percent, and women account for 35.5 percent of all the state’s elected officials, according to the commission’s latest Status of Iowa Women report.
Many women have said they feel inspired by both candidates — because Clinton is a woman and Obama is African-American, Scott said. That’s why Iowa must encourage more minorities, especially Latinos who aren’t represented in the Iowa Legislature, to enter politics, she said.
One deterrent to women running for office likely is the high number of women in Iowa who work, she said.
“There are a lot of women who feel like they’re too busy to take it on,” she said.
But, their views are needed, she said.
“It makes sense to have a diverse view in decision-making at the community level and state level,” Scott said. “Women have had experience with several things that men haven’t like finding quality childcare for their children. They bring a lot of experience
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