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.
Chuck Swaggerty and Jason Morgan may not be a typical Iowa family, if there is such a thing, but they feel more satisfied with their lives.
In an interview with Bret Hayworth of the Sioux City Journal, the men, who were plaintiffs in the case before the Iowa Supreme Court that made same-sex marriages legal in April, said the legal sanctions afforded to them by state-recognized marriage have allowed them to make big changes.
Six months later, their life has changed for the better, they said, for the ability to both be covered by the health insurance Chuck Swaggerty-Morgan has at his job and for being able to adopt children as a couple.
Speaking as some of their four kids played in the living room, Jason Swaggerty-Morgan explained that previously one person in a partnership would adopt a child individually, then the other partner, months later, would adopt as a second parent.
“It is twice as expensive, it is twice the hassle, plus I had to wait six months, knowing that I wasn’t really the adoptive parent. It was really sad,” Jason Swaggerty-Morgan said.
On Oct. 16, the two may have made another Iowa first — the married same-sex couple adopted children, the Swaggerty-Morgans said.
“It was a real victory for us when we adopted these children…. We were treated equally, as if we were a heterosexual married couple,” Jason Swaggerty-Morgan said.
Follow Lynda Waddington on Twitter
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