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.
Mitt Romney
Almost one week to the day from Sarah Palin‘s big speech at the Regan Day Dinner in Des Moines, her first political foray into the Hawkeye State since the 2008 elections, Mitt Romney will deliver his own speech to Republicans in New Hampshire, agreeing to keynote the party’s state convention Sept. 25.
The New Hampshire Union Leader’s John DiStaso reports that Romney’s speech follows a busy few months in the Granite State for the former Massachusetts governor.
Romney hosted a high-dollar fund-raiser for the state GOP at the Taj Hotel in Boston last Thursday. He also hosted fund-raisers for the Republican House PAC in Manchester and for the state party in Tuftonboro on Aug. 12. He’s donated $30,000 to the state party so far in the cycle, $1,000 to District 3 Executive Council candidate Chris Sununu and $7,500 to other local and state special election candidates.
Despite spending millions and building the largest Republican campaign organization in the state, Romney lost the 2008 Iowa Caucuses by 9 percent to the underfunded Mike Huckabee. The defeat dealt a blow to his campaign that he never fully recovered from. Since then, many have questioned whether Romney would return to the Hawkeye State for another run in 2012 or simply skip by and focus on New Hampshire.
Ultimately, the decision will likely come down to who throws their hat in the ring. Huckabee still dominates early caucus polling, and the former Arkansas governor is still active in Iowa politics. But a recent poll by The Iowa Republican blog found that if Huckabee decides not to run, Romney becomes the frontrunner. And much of Romney’s Iowa team has remained intact, joining up with either Terry Branstad‘s gubernatorial campaign or the nonprofit group American Future Fund.
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