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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.
Blogger John Deeth has the scoop on a third candidate in the hotly contested campaign for the Iowa House District 89 seat, and the addition to the slate could spell doom for the Democratic incumbent.
State Rep. Larry Marek, D-Riverside, defeated Republican Jared Klein in 2008 by 157 votes. Klein is back this year for a rematch, and Deeth reports that David Smithers of Wellman has announced he will launch a campaign as either a member of the Green Party or under the name “Iowa Labor Coalition.”
From Deeth’s blog:
The challenge from the left comes late, but is not a total shock. There was some buzz last winter about finding a primary challenger for Marek.
Marek had all-out top-tier party support in 2008. This year, area Democrats are emphasizing support for two Fairfield Democrats: Sen. Becky Schmitz, who has a hot race against Greiner, and special election winner Rep. Curt Hanson, who has a rematch with Steve Burgmaier. The seemingly deliberate omission of Marek, who represents the northern half of Schmitz’s turf, is glaringly obvious.
As of July 1, the district has 7,127 registered Republicans, 5,804 registered Democrats and 7,777 registered independents. Marek is one of the so-called “six pack” of conservative Democratic lawmakers, along with Delores Mertz (now retired), Geri Huser, Doris Kelley, Brian Quirk and McKinley Bailey. Each has broken from the party to side with Republicans on numerous issues, one of the most controversial being legislation favored by organized labor that would have set minimum pay and benefit standards for workers on certain public projects.
Democrats currently have a 56-44 advantage in the Iowa House, although Republicans are expected to make big gains this fall.
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