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.
U.S. Rep. Tom Latham has pledged to introduce legislation that would prevent the Obama administration from further considering a prison just across the Mississippi River from Clinton as a possible future home for detainees currently housed at a military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
“I have heard from so many Iowans over the past few days who are rightfully concerned about the proposed location of Guantanamo Bay terrorist-detainees in our backyard,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, who has not said for sure whether he will support Latham’s bill, represents the portion of Iowa that is most near the Thomson Correctional Center, and he toured the facility with a federal task force on Monday. If the plan moves forward, the Federal Bureau of Prisons would purchase the now mostly-empty facility from Illinois and revamp it for use for roughly 100 terror suspects.
Following the facility tour, Braley, who was the only member of the Iowa delegation to participate, spoke about the experience:
“I wanted to be there on the ground myself to find out what types of security precautions are already in place,” he said during an Iowa Public Radio interview Monday afternoon. “I wanted to speak to representatives from the White House, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Prisons and Department of Defense about the security implications of this proposal and ask the tough questions that are important to my constituents in the First District of Iowa.”
“My whole point throughout this conversation has been, everyone needs to take a deep breath, listen to what the plan is, and make sure there’s an opportunity for public input so people have the chance to have their concerns addressed,” he said.
He is expected to further address the situation this afternoon on a conference call with reporters.
Latham, like most Republicans in Congress, is openly critical of the Obama administration’s proposed plans to move terror suspects from a military prison at Guantanamo Bay into the United States. The legislation proposed by Latham is one more attempt by the GOP to prohibit the suspects from being held in the country, and echoes the sentiments expressed by Republicans who represent Illinois.
In contrast, Illinois Democrats like U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. Pat Quinn view the move as an opportunity to possibly provide economic revitalization to a hard-hit portion of the state. Jerry Hebeler, who serves as mayor for the neighboring town of Thomson is also in favor, stating that the detainees “can’t be any worse than any murderer” and that the maximum-security facility was built for such a purpose.
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