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.
A Kansas-based church is once again planning one of its infamous and highly inflammatory protests of homosexuality in Iowa.
Westboro Baptist Church, run by Fred Phelps and predominantly attended by members of his family, announced on its Web site that it will protest at Graceland University, a school with strong religious ties. The protest is scheduled for Friday, March 5, and will be held in conjunction with a production of “The Laramie Project” by Graceland’s Theatre Department.
The play recounts the reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Members of the Phelps family are depicted in the play for picketing Shepard’s funeral.
Below is a portion of the announcement for the protest from the church’s event schedule:
… Yes, that is what this nation needs, more pushy loud-mouthed women yip-yapping lies about Matthew Shepard. What part of SHUT UP do you silly women NOT understand? Listen up women, if not for you Matt would not be in hell – right now! You did that, and instead of being ashamed, you sin more and more behind it. Our message for Lamoni, and DOOMED american theatre troops is this: Matt Is In Hell! God Hates Fags! God Hates Fag Enablers! You will eat your babies! Bloody Obama! Hell Is Real – Ask Matt! Judy Sent Matt To Hell! That is correct, if not for that disobedient woman lying to the little boy. I say, if she and her capon (now divorced from him) husband had one time told little Matthew some truth from the Bible – he would be alive To Day! …
Although the group had scheduled a protest a production of the play by Theatre Cedar Rapids earlier this year, none of the family members showed up. There were, however, several hundred individuals who turned out for a counter-protest and to show their support for marriage equality in Iowa.
As The Iowa Independent has previously reported, members of Westboro Baptist have protested the Iowa Jewish Historical Society (because “history says Jews killed Jesus”) and Marshalltown Community Theater. The group also protested at the funeral of a fallen Iowa soldier.
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