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.
Neighborhood activist Mike Wright joins the at-large race for Iowa City Council:Wright, 49, has a background with the city’s neighborhood associations, currently chairing the Northside association and having chaired the Longfellow association before moving to his current residence. He’s also on the Iowa City Board of Adjustment and has worked with the Stepping Up alcohol awareness program as well as several student/neighborhood outreach campaigns. He is a member of Friends of Historic Preservation, the Audubon Society, and the Human Rights Campaign.
“This city has a great quality of life, and if we have vibrant neighborhoods throughout Iowa City, particularly those at the City’s core, it can really help Iowa City to thrive and grow,” Wright said in a press release.
Also joining the at-large contest this week is fellow north sider Matt Hayek, 37, a partner at the Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Hayek law firm. He has served on the Iowa City Housing and Community Development Commission for four years, and was chairman for two years. He’s also board president of the Englert Theatre.
Hayek and Wright join three term incumbent Dee Vanderhoef and first time candidate Terry Smith in the at large contest. First term incumbent Bob Elliott is not running.
In the district races, Mayor Ross Wilburn (District A, mostly the west side) and Regenia Bailey (District C, north side and downtown) are both in with no challengers yet. Explanatory note for non-Iowa Citians: the mayor is chosen by the council from among its members in January.
Other Johnson County local election news: The Press-Citizen endorses a no vote in Tuesday’s North Liberty special election on a tansition from an at-large council to wards.
Citing a guest opinion (no longer on line), the P-C notes “North Liberty Councilor Matt Bahl argued that the city’s current system of government ensures that every prospective city councilor battles against every other perspective city councilor.” They conclude:
“Except for the logical argument Bahl’s guest opinion, those publicly advocating for a ‘yes’ vote in the June 12 election merely have suggested that the proposed change in the city government could shorten the terms of councilors James Wozniak and Gerry Kuhl. Under that logic, Tuesday’s election is nothing more than a referendum on the voting record of Wozniak and Kuhl.”
That’s only part of the story.
The election would also have truncated the term of Mayor Dave Franker, who resigned March 29, just days before the petition was filed. The Bahl editorial openly spoke of the controversies that had surrounded the Franker era, which began with a 37% write-in win and included a months-long challenge to the election itself based on seemingly contradictory twenty year old sections of city code.
Frankeer’s resignation seems to have taken much of the oomph out of the yes campaign. A League of Women Voters forum was cancelled because a Yes speaker could not be found.
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