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.
Proposed budget cuts could result in 791 layoffs and 529 vacant positions left open, according to plans submitted by directors of state agencies Wednesday.
Iowa's capitol building (File photo)
The largest layoffs will come from the Department of Corrections, which plans to eliminate 515 jobs and leave another 262 vacant in order to cut $35.7 million from its budget.
The Department of Human Services plans to lay off 79 workers and leave 149 positions vacant as part of a plan to cut $132 million.
Earlier this month, Gov. Chet Culver ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut to the state’s budget that will total $565 million. The hardest-hit department financially is education, which will endure more than 58 percent of the cuts. The figures of layoffs released Wednesday do not include layoffs for one segment of education – public universities.
The figures also do not account for other statewide elected officials or the legislative and judicial branches.
Departmental plans are to be finalized by Oct. 28.
“It is very important to note that this is the starting line, not the finish line, to implement cuts made necessary by the impact of the national economic recession,” Culver said in a statement, later adding: “I disagree with certain recommendations in these preliminary plans, and I will discuss them with department directors and the collective bargaining units as part of my review. I also want to be certain that there are no inconsistencies between these plans and what our departments are required to do by law.”
In particular, Culver said he disagrees with services cuts to “children and vulnerable adults, as well as in areas of public safety.”
“These cuts have a very disproportionate impact on public safety, an area I vowed to protect. For example, two-thirds of layoffs are in the Department of Corrections, which relies almost entirely on support from the General Fund, and I want to find a way to mitigate that situation,” he said.
The governor’s office has posted the full array of budget cut proposals and summaries of the proposals for the public to review.
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