The Libertarian Party of Iowa will be fielding a candidate in three of the four Congressional districts in Iowa.

Nicholas Gluba in the 1st Congressional District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd Congressional District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th Congressional District filed their official candidacy papers Monday at the Iowa State Capitol.

Here’s what inspired each of them to run and what their main policy objective would be. Two of the candidates do not currently have a campaign website, but information on the Libertarian Party platform can be found at lpia.org.

Nicholas Gluba, 1st Congressional District

Gluba is running in Iowa’s 1st District, which covers most of southeastern Iowa, including Iowa City and Davenport. It is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.

Gluba decided to run after hearing other residents in his district express dissatisfaction with Miller-Meeks’ attention to their issues. He said he and other constituents felts ignored.

“As a politician, your employer is the people of your constituency,” he said. “If you ignore your boss, you should go.”

Gluba serves on the city council of Lone Tree, something he believes proves the viability of third-party candidates.

He also served in Operation Iraqi Freedom after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The experience made him staunchly anti-war, something he plans to push for if elected.

“I’m big a on nonaggression,” he said. “We need to stop sending Americans to places we don’t need to be.”

Gluba said by ending foreign interventions, America could save trillions of dollars to reinvest in its economy.

He also would seek to end eminent domain and reduce the power of the executive branch, specifically by banning executive orders and repealing or altering the International Emergency Economic Powers Act that allows the president to regulate or ban international trade to countries deemed a threat.

Gluba’s campaign has a Facebook page titled Nicholas Gluba for Congress.

Marco Battaglia, 3rd Congressional District

Battaglia is running in Iowa’s 3rd District which covers much of southern and central Iowa, including most of the Des Moines metropolitan area. It is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn.

Battaglia was inspired to run because of Nunn’s decisions, particularly his failure to speak out on 4th Amendment issues related to governmental data gathering.

“He could have at least said, ‘hey, you need a warrant,’” Battaglia said. “But he has a history of inappropriate data gathering.”

While Battaglia broadly agrees with the Libertarian Party platform, he said he’s “not a party person.” Instead, he feels that the Libertarian Party is simply the closest to his political beliefs.

Battaglia had a short list of priorities, including abolishing the Federal Reserve and opposing eminent domain. Another major plank is ending the drug war and expunging the records of those convicted. He also said he wants to be a voice for peace in Congress.

“If we don’t declare war, we shouldn’t be sanctioning or sending weapons,” he said.

More information on Battaglia’s campaign can be found at marco4congress.com.

Charles Alrdich, 4th Congressional District

Aldrich is running in Iowa’s 4th District, which covers much of western Iowa, including Sioux Falls and Council Bluffs. It is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra. Aldrich previously ran for the office in 2018, getting around 6,000 votes.

He said a specific policy Feenstra proposed prompted him to run again for office.

“He posted that we should take all the money from people crossing the border from Mexico,” Aldrich said. “I didn’t see a difference between highway bandits and what he wanted the highway patrol to be.”

On July 31, 2023, Feenstra proposed the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act that would confiscate assets from drug traffickers to build a border wall and fund the fight again fentanyl.

Aldrich broadly agrees with the Libertarian Party platform, except on immigration. Aldrich said it shouldn’t take more than 24 hours to either get a Visa to enter the United States or have the application denied.

However, his main agenda if elected would focus on economic policies.

“My first priority is to repeal the 16th Amendment,” Aldrich said. “States should fund the federal government, not the people.”

The 16th Amendment granted Congress the right to levy income taxes. Aldrich also wants to remove the Federal Reserve from the process of minting new currency.

Ryan Magalhães is a reporter for the Register. Reach them at rmagalhaes@dmreg.com.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Since the last election, Iowa lawmakers have passed sweeping changes to education. That includes creating private school vouchers, banning books that depict sex acts from school libraries, and restructuring of the Area Education Agency system.

Democrats are trying to use these changes to try and win back seats in the legislature.

At the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration Saturday, Democrats centered their speeches mainly around education and abortion.

Retiring Iowa Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum said, “I know first-hand how important the Area Education Agencies are to every child and every family who has a child with special needs. You never mess with Mama Bear.”

Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst said, “Iowans hate vouchers and we’re going to make ‘em pay.”

IDP Chair Rita Hart said, “Iowa Democrats value our educators and we are ready to go to bat for you.”

University of Iowa Political Science Professor Tim Hagle says in this election, No Party voters will make the difference. “Those No Party voters by and large tend to focus on, you know, the kitchen table issues. Jobs, the economy, healthcare but also kids. And especially if you’re talking about how their kids are going to be doing in school,” Hagle said.

Hagle says he expects Democrats to make the case that due to these changes passed by Republicans, schools are in tough shape. If voters buy that message, he says they could have some success.

But – Hagle says Republicans will try to appeal to No Party voters as well. “Republicans are going to make counter argument saying, ‘Well, the reorganization of the AEAs was needed and the voucher program provides education opportunities for, you know, kids that may be in schools that don’t aren’t a good fit for them for whatever reason,” Hagle said.

Hagle says 40% of Iowans are registered as Republican, 30% are registered as Democrat, and another 30% are no party.

Hagle says Republicans are doing a better job at registering new voters than Democrats. “The last couple cycles, Republicans have done very well in terms of new party registrations and party switches which is why they have the plurality at this time,” Hagle said.

Hagle also adds that Iowans like incumbent lawmakers and aren’t likely to vote them out unless they’ve done something wrong.

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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Television-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.

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The Iowa Lottery says it saw record sales of $489.9 million in the just-completed 2024 fiscal year.

The lottery released its unaudited annual results Tuesday, finding that sales had increased 1.7% from the previous year, beating the previous record. Proceeds from the lottery to the state totaled nearly $107 million, according to a news release.

While the proceeds decreased roughly 1.6% from fiscal; year 2023, the lottery reported they were the second highest after that year’s $108.4 million.

Prizes to players also reached a record level at $312.6 million — a 2.4% increase — according to the news release, and lottery sales commissions to Iowa businesses grew by 2%.

“The Iowa Lottery continues to deliver on its promise to responsibly generate revenue for important state causes,” Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said in the release. “I’m grateful to lottery players, retail partners, and our amazing team of public-minded professionals who produced these record results.”

What were the top-selling Iowa Lottery products in fiscal 2024?

The top-selling lottery products in Iowa were scratch games, at $302.1 million, followed in a distant second by Powerball at $77.3 million, and in third, Mega Millions at $39.1 million.

Fourteen Iowa Lottery players claimed prizes of at least $500,000 during the fiscal year, with the largest winnings being $2 million in Powerball games — one for a Clinton man in April, and one for a Treynor man in January. A Powerball Double Play prize of $500,000, won in March in Mason City, remains unclaimed.

Proceeds from the lottery go to multiple sources, including the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund and programs supporting Iowa law enforcement, firefighters and corrections employees who die in the line of duty, as well as to projects through the state general fund.

Dana Wingert, Des Moines chief of police and chair of the lottery commission, praised the lottery’s efforts to highlight National Gambling Awareness Month and the services available in the state for people facing gambling addiction disorders.

“As a citizen commission member, it’s gratifying to me to see this ongoing demonstration of lottery integrity,” Wingert said. “And as a public servant myself, I appreciate the lottery team’s focus on responsibly producing results for vital causes.”