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.
Steve Dinnen, Jeff Bash, Mike Malloy and Carl Benskin have joined the list of Des Moines Register employees whose jobs have been eliminated, bringing the total thus far to seven.
Laura Hollingsworth, president and publisher of The Des Moines Register, announced on Friday that the paper would eliminate 12 full-time and three part-time positions by today, and that 11 currently vacant positions would go unfilled.
Dinnen has been a senior business reporter at the Register since 2000. Before that he worked for Meredith Corp. and the Indianapolis Star.
Bash, 31, is the Register’s multimedia graphics editor. He graduated from Grand View College in 2000.
Malloy has been a reporter in the sports department since 2001.
These four join features reporter Ken Fuson and farm editor Jerry Perkins, who took buyouts, and Washington, D.C., bureau reporter Jane Norman, who was laid off with a severance package.
Here is the memo from Register Editor Carolyn Washburn to the newsroom announcing the names of those affected by the layoffs:
I want to announce the results of the layoffs that Laura announced last Friday. This week we have to say goodbye to five colleagues: Jane Norman, Jeff Bash, Steve Dinnen, Mike Malloy and Carl Benskin. In addition, some people will receive new assignments so that we fill positions internally. That will mean a bit of disruption in the near term, but it was important to us to find the best fits possible for the unique requirements of each job. We have talked to most of those folks today and will finalize a couple of remaining changes within a week. Next week we will have an updated organizational chart. Obviously this is very difficult for everyone. I appreciate your support for each other, and your dedication to serving the community that is dealing with tough times of its own.
Carolyn
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