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.
New Jersey-based anti-gay marriage group the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) spent more than $235,000 on a statewide television ad campaign calling for the rejection of all three Iowa Supreme Court justices facing a judicial retention election in November.
The figure comes from disclosure reports filed Tuesday with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. The ad is planned to run for two weeks.
NOM’s ad buy represents its biggest investment in Iowa since it spent nearly $100,000 in an Iowa House special election last September. NOM was heavily involved in the campaigns for California’s Proposition 8 in 2008 and Maine’s Proposition 1 in 2009, ballot initiatives that successfully revoked same-sex marriage rights in both states. The group held a pair of rallies in Iowa in early August to promote their point of view.
The American Family Association (AFA) has spent $60,000 in September on the project, mostly on research services and staff.
On Monday, Iowa for Freedom — the joint project of NOM and AFA Action being led by former GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats — launched the ad on network and cable stations across Iowa. The groups hope to oust the three judges based on the court’s unanimous ruling in April 2009 declaring the state’s Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
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