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 House gutted significant sections of a statewide smoking ban Wednesday, passing amendments to exempt bars, restaurants and casinos that prohibit customers under the age of 21.The vote means that casinos as well as many bars and restaurants will be allowed to continue to allow smoking. A separate exemption will also allow smoking in designated areas at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.
The debate, which lasted for about two hours, centered mostly on how an all-out smoking ban would impact bars and restaurants in rural Iowa, where small town taverns that offer lunch and dinner are often the only local gathering spot in the community.
State Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant, said tavern owners in his district have warned him that an all-out smoking ban would be devastating to their business. “This is about giving these business owners a choice.”
But State Rep. Janet Peterson, D-Des Moines, one of the leading advocates for an all-out smoking ban, said during debate that the amendment defeated the original purpose of the bill, which was to protect all Iowans from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
“I’m kind of a purist on this issue,” she said. “I can’t support the amendment.”
The Smokefree Air Act will still cover a long list of restaurants, bars, private businesses and public gathering places, but doesn’t offer the comprehensive coverage that was approved in the Senate.
Senators will get one more crack at crafting a compromise, but legislators now expect the bill will end up in conference, where representatives from both chambers will hammer out an agreement on the legislation.
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