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.
Legislators who supported the smoking ban in Iowa will benefit at the polls this fall, Gov. Chet Culver said.
During a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “ Iowa Press ,” Culver said an overwhelming majority of Iowans supported the smoking ban, and thus, it will be a boon for those who voted to enact it during the 2008 session.“I’m fighting for those hundred thousand workers in those bars and restaurants that today do not have to deal with the secondhand smoke that prior to July 1 they had to deal with,” Culver said. “Those workers are 40 percent more likely to have a respiratory problem because they were forced prior to the ban to work in that environment. So, it’s also great for families that want to take kids out.”
Culver compared passing the smoking ban to passing an increase in the cigarette tax during the 2007 legislative session.
“I ran on that in 2006, I promised a dollar increase in the cigarette tax and I was fortunate enough to win by 100,000 votes and I think I would have been in a lot more trouble if I didn’t deliver on that promise,” he said. “I think Iowans will come out and show their support for those legislators that took that courageous stand to ban smoking in some of those venues.”
The smoking ban became law July 1 and prohibits smoking in all public spaces except casinos.
The governor also discussed his relationship with organized labor, which has been strained of late after Culver vetoed a collective bargaining bill long sought after by unions. Earlier this week, however, Culver issued an executive order creating a task force to study the misclassification of employees hired by contractors, another big issue for the labor movement. Culver said this was not an attempt to win back the support of labor, but rather a move that is in the best interests of Iowa workers.
“This will bring some important attention on the issue of independent contractor reform because there are a lot of abuses out there,” he said. “It’s not fair to the workers. If they get injured on the job and their employer is not paying worker’s compensation benefits when they go to the hospital they will learn that they’re not covered for that injury. That is just common sense, it’s about fairness, it’s good for our workers and it’s important to keep a competitive playing field for the businesses that are playing by the rules.”
Follow Jason Hancock 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