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.
Despite being asked numerous times by Dave Price, a reporter for Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV, state Rep. Wayne Ford would not say whether he will run for re-election in Iowa House District 65.
While guest hosting Chris Bradshaw’s afternoon radio show on WOW-FM, former state Rep. Ed Fallon reported that Ford was not seeking re-election but would not announce in order to avoid a competitive primary and allow the Iowa Democrats to handpick his successor. Ford did not respond to several requests for comment by The Iowa Independent, but Price was able to speak to the Des Moines Democrat by phone.
From Price’s blog:
I talked to Rep. Ford tonight. He said he is still at the statehouse, so he isn’t retired. I told him I was talking about next session. He said if he had news, he would issue a press release. I tried several times to get him to say whether he would retire or run again. He said several times he issues a press release when he has news.
The deadline for filing for state races is Friday at 5 p.m. Ford’s district, which is made up of several neighborhoods in northeast Des Moines, is considered one of the state’s safest Democratic districts. If someone wanted to run they would have to collect 50 signatures to get on the ballot. Fallon is actively seeking someone to run to avoid letting the party pick the candidate, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party denied Fallon’s allegations.
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