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.
Des Moines-based Principal Financial Group Inc. has told the state it will no longer persue tax incentives that will require the company to hire 900 more workers, The Des Moines Register reported this morning.
The financial services company, which has more than 8,200 employees in the Des Moines area, told the Iowa Department of Economic Development that the current economic downturn made the job creation goal attached to $2.7 million in tax credits very challenging.
The financial crisis roiling U.S. and overseas markets has hit national insurers like Principal Financial hard. In November, the Des Moines-based company reported its third-quarter net income declined 61 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. The nation’s largest 401(k) administrator said its net income included losses of $156 million, largely because of charges from holdings in bankrupt Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual.
Over the past two months, Principal’s share price has fallen 66 percent. On Monday, its stock fell $1.83 to close at $15, the lowest price since the company went public in 2001.
Principal’s plans originally called for adding 1,500 employees in the next 3 to 5 years. The company said that growth now depends on improvements to the overall economy.
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