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.
Tired of what it views as the oversimplification of the presidential election, the Quad-City Times has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama.
Boiling the election down to a battle between “experience or change” doesn’t do this historic vote justice, the paper said, and those words don’t begin to cover all requirements for the next president.
What about temperament, judgment, decision-making and knowledge? How about stamina, education and ethics?
These are among the considerations that support our enthusiastic endorsement of Barack Obama for president of the United States.
The McCain the paper endorsed during the caucuses is gone, replaced by “campaign doublespeak and some fairly awful decisions for the guy wearing the experience mantle.” But his choice of running mate is what gave the eastern Iowa paper the most pause.
Sarah Palin’s populist appeal holds promise. Her soaring political career track from hockey mom to Alaska governor simply isn’t enough to merit the giant step to the Oval Office.
We don’t question her potential. But today, she clearly is not ready to assume the presidency.
The thing that clinched the endorsement, the paper said, was that during each of its editorial meetings with Obama as state senator, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate “we’ve experienced consistent character, superior intellect, engaging curiosity and specific knowledge of our Quad-Cities.”
We weren’t quite there last January when change began in Iowa. We are now.
The paper endorsed Democrat John Kerry in 2004. Before that it had only endorsed a Democrat once since 1972.
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