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.
The former day-to-day manager of the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville was vindicated Monday by a Black Hawk County jury.
Following several weeks of testimony, jurors acquitted Sholom M. Rubashkin on all 67 misdemeanor counts of violations of child labor law. Video of Rubashkin’s reaction to the verdict is available on the website of Cedar Rapids ABC affiliate KCRG-TV.
Sholom M. Rubashkin
“We alleged that Sholom Rubashkin was on notice repeatedly that he knew — from his own management staff, from child labor investigators, and from his own eyes — that there were scores of children working on the floor of the slaughterhouse, and we alleged Rubashkin ignored his obligation to do something about it,” the Iowa Attorney General’s Office wrote in a statement following the verdict.
“But the jury found reasonable doubt. We respect the process, and the jury has the final say. We commend the jury for their five weeks of attention during the trial, and for their 12 hours of deliberation.”
Agriprocessors, which was once the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant and Postville’s largest employer, was the site of a massive immigration raid in May 2008. In total, 389 workers were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Most of the detainees faced criminal charges related to identify theft and were quickly convicted through plea bargains. After being charged criminally, six of the defendants were discovered to be juveniles. In addition, 23 juveniles detained during the raid were released to responsible adults or specialists.
Rubashkin was convicted on 86 counts of fraud in federal court last November, still faces sentencing on those charges. Prosecutors have requested Rubashkin receive 25 years in prison, while defense attorneys have stipulated that a six-year sentence is appropriate. Sentencing on the federal charges is scheduled to take place in Cedar Rapids on June 22.
To date, 10 members of Agriprocessors management or office staff have been convicted on federal charges in the wake of the immigration raid. Only two defendants in the case have not faced prosecution: Hosam Amara and Zeev Levi. Both men are believed to have fled the country to avoid prosecution and are considered fugitives.
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