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 Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is predicting record high prices at the gas pump this year. In their February fuel-price survey issued yesterday, they noted that a continued climb in crude prices is keeping gas prices above $3 a gallon. DNR Program Planner Jim Bodensteiner said that “lowered demand and strong inventories” won’t be enough to push prices back down.
The fuel survey also tracks prices for propane (up 31 percent from last year), heating oil (up 42 percent from last year), natural gas (up 21 percent from last year) and diesel (up 43 percent from last year).The report, which is available from the DNR website, also compares West Texas Cushing Sweet Crude Oil from last month and last year. The crude-oil barrel prices rose 14 percent from January 2008 and have soared 66 percent from the same time last year. In February 2007, the price of a barrel of oil was $61.80. Last week, the Feb. 28 price of the sweet crude stuff was $102.60 per barrel.
A year ago, the average metro price for self-serve 10 percent ethanol was $2.18 per gallon; the February 2008 metro average was pegged at just above $3.
For the full press release, go to the DNR Web site: http://www.iowadnr.c…
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter