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 huge majority of grants from the state go to students at private colleges in Iowa. In fact, no other state awards a higher percentage of grant aid to students at private institutions.
During the 2008-09 school year, 80 percent of Iowa’s grant aid — almost $50 million — went to private school students while 10 percent — just $6 million — went to students at Iowa’s public institutions, according to a new report from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
Most states’ percentage of grants to private college students is well below 50 percent. And Wyoming and Nevada, for instance, grant 100 percent of their grant dollars to students at state-funded institutions.
The report also showed grants from the state have grown consistently over the past 10 years. Iowa awarded almost $70 million in grants to college students during the 2008-09 academic year — a 10 percent increase over the previous year, despite state budget difficulties.
| 1-year growth | 5-year growth | 10-year growth |
| 10.3% | 33.3% | 34.8% |
The most recent 10 percent jump bested the national average of 5 percent. Hawaii’s grant aid total rose by more than 350 percent, while North Carolina cut grant funding by about 30 percent.
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