(Radio Iowa) – Challenges have been filed with state election officials, claiming the Libertarian candidates running in three of Iowa’s congressional district are not qualified for the 2024 General Election ballot. Residents in the first, third and fourth congressional districts have signed petitions which allege Libertarians did not hold county conventions as required by law, so the three Libertarian congressional candidates were not properly nominated. The Libertarians say they did have county conventions, just not in every county.

Nicholas Gluba of Lone Tree, the Libertarian candidate in the first congressional district, says the challenges show Republicans are terrified of how Libertarians are appealing to voters. “They want to attack our ability to be on the ballot. They want to attack Iowans’ ability to vote for who they choose. We have to fight against that,” Gluba said. “…When the Republicans decided that they needed to take on the Republican Party, that was an admission of fear. They’re afraid that we’re going to take out the death grip that Republicans hold on the State of Iowa.”

Marco Battaglia of Des Moines, the Libertarian candidate in Iowa’s third congressional district, says Libertarians did have county conventions, they just didn’t have one for each of Iowa’s 99 counties because there were no Libertarian delegates in some counties. “Most of our population is in, like 12 counties,” Battaglia says. “What are we supposed to do in a county that’s never voted Democrat in their life? Why do they want to register as anything else if they want Republicans to keep winning?”

Battaglia says the Republican-led legislature and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds have repeatedly changed election laws to put Libertarians at a disadvantage. “If we’ve got to take this up further up the court system, I think we can kind of dismantle this kind of unfair, rigged game that they’ve got going,” Battaglia said.

Charles Aldrich of Clarion, the Libertarian Party’s candidate in the fourth congressional district, says there was county participation — from counties that have Libertarians. “What they’re saying is inaccurate,” Aldrich says.

The Libertarians were among six congressional candidates who appeared this weekend on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Democratic candidate Ryan Melton of Nevada, who’s running in the fourth congressional district, says voters deserve as many choices as possible and the G-O-P attempt to toss Libertarians off the November ballot is awful.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Zach Nunn of Bondurant says he’s running for a second term in the U-S House to ensure congress has an “America First” mindset. “One that really puts our priorities at the top of the line,” Nunn said. Nunn, who represents Iowa’s third congressional district, says there is no greater threat to the U-S than the situation at the southern border.

“Too many in Washington are treating it like this is every day business,” Nunn said. “…Eight million illegals coming into our country is a direct threat to our nation. In fact I don’t think there’s a more direct threat to our country…We have to secure our border before we can talk about any kind of immigration reform.” Nunn says he’ll have three priorities if he wins reelection: securing the border, lowering taxes and opposing changes to Social Security and Medicare.

“Let’s keep our momentum in Washington with real leaders out there and not move backwards to the way that we’ve been,” Nunn said. “This is doing to be a competitive election year…This is an opportunity for each of us to stand up for things that are important.” Nunn made his comments on The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

Nunn is facing Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam, who’s scheduled to speak at the fair late this (Monday) afternoon.

(Iowa News Service) – Thirteen students, ranging in age from 14 to 21, have just graduated from the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council Youth Leadership Academy. The program’s goal is to develop young leaders who learn skills that build their confidence.  A dozen students from Iowa welcomed one from Illinois who is attending school in Iowa. Together, they learned during the weeklong academy how to be more effective advocates for their communities.

That’s exactly what 21-year-old Andrew Allen, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, autism and severe separation anxiety, was looking for when he applied.

The annual academy teaches students ways to advocate for themselves, become more civically engaged and to be of service in their communities. 19-year-old University of Iowa student Jackie Corless, who said she has an intellectual learning
disability, also took part in the Youth Leadership Academy. She said the topics ranged from advocacy to communicating, and lots of useful skills in between.

The Youth Leadership Academy is a partnership between the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Iowa, ASK Resource Center, the University of Iowa Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Access to Independence.

The CAM School Board is set to meet Monday evening, in Anita. Here is the agenda: