Iowa
Iowa Libertarian candidate for Congress ready to fight ballot access objection
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Sunday at the Iowa State Fair, one Iowa Libertarian congressional candidate took his turn at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox – and says he’s ready to fight. That’s because some Republicans say he didn’t follow the rules to get on the November ballot and they want his name removed.
Upon taking the stage Sunday, Marco Battaglia called on Congressman Zach Nunn to compete with him in a wrestling match. “I invited Zach Nunn here to a no holds barred wrestling match. Loser leaves the ballot. And looks like there’s only one guy here,” Battaglia said.
Battaglia is running in central Iowa’s 3rd Congressional district, and is one of three Libertarians to face Republican objections to them being on the ballot.
Also facing objections are Charles Aldrich, who’s running in northwest Iowa’s 4th Congressional District and Nicholas Gluba, who’s running in eastern Iowa’s 1st Congressional District.
“The further they draw this out, like they’re really kind of screwing with the electoral process. They’re screwing with polls. They’re screwing with debates,” Battaglia said.
After caucuses, parties have to hold county conventions where they’ll choose their delegates for the state convention. The objection, which was made by Republicans, says Libertarians skipped county conventions and went right to state convention and selected candidates.
Battaglia says the party did have county conventions, but they did them in one centralized location.
“It was in Polk County, but the delegates broke out from their specific counties. So, they still had a meeting of people from these counties that nominated us,” he said.
Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver backs them up. “This idea that there wasn’t conventions being held for their party is ridiculous because I know Iowans who were at these conventions who were there and so for me it should be as simple as saying, ‘hey, was there a convention? Yes, there was. You’re good to go’,” Oliver said.
Battaglia says this the way they’ve done it in the past and didn’t face objections
“I think they’re just really confused of how we just all of the sudden didn’t overnight have 99 counties of organization of people working for free to do this work that, you know, the average person doesn’t care about,” he said.
Later this month, a board made up of Secretary of State Paul Pate, Attorney General Brenna Bird, and State Auditor Rob Sand will make the decision on if he and two other libertarians can be on the ballot.
If he’s kicked off, he says they’ll continue to fight.
“If we do fight it, it’s going to be cause it’s a legitimate legal concern. We’re going to go through the court system. We’re not going to storm the golden dome and like pee on the Governor’s rug or something,” Battaglia said.
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-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.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
POLK CITY, Iowa (KCCI) – The summer swimming season may just be getting underway, but the Iowa DNR says there are already some beaches people should not swim at.
As KCCI reports, four Iowa beaches have high levels of E. coli in the first tests of the year: Backbone Beach, Beeds Lake Beach, Pine Lake South Beach, and Bobwhite State Park all had high levels of the bacterial colony.
The DNR tests state beaches every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day for various bacteria.
Big Creek Beach passed its first test of the season. With the beach testing high for bacteria in previous years, families said they were glad the beach tested all clear so far.
“The kids are happy to be playing in the water this year, so I’m glad that they’re able to swim and we’re not as worried,” said Sarah Sarton of West Des Moines.
Health officials urge caution even when water looks clean. Polk County Public Health director Juliann Van Liew said people should avoid consuming the water and use swim goggles when going underwater.
You can look up the water quality monitoring map on the DNR’s website.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
We at High School On SI previously offered up a list of candidates for the Iowa high school boys soccer player of the year award.
Now, we take a look at some of the best girls high school soccer players in the state of Iowa.
Like with with the High School On SI Iowa High School Boys Soccer Player of the Year Award, the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year Award will be named in each class following the conclusion of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Soccer Tournament in June.
Here are the nominees for the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of The Year Award. Stats are official as of Sunday, May 24, 2026 from the Bound website.
High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player Of The Year Candidates
Class 3A
- Ilana Vasconez, Ottumwa: The senior leads all players with 48 goals, averaging almost three per match.
- Sloane Moeller, Davenport Central: Moeller is just one goal behind the class lead, as the junior has tallied 47 with 10 assists.
- Callie Stanley, Iowa City Liberty: Both a scorer and distributor, Stanley has 24 goals and 13 assists in 16 matches.
- Izzy Simonini, Waukee Northwest: The top goalscorer on the No. 1 team is Simonini, as the senior has tallie dnine on the year.
- Andie Vanderschaaf, Pleasant Valley: A brick in net, the senior has allowed just five goals in 1,200 minutes, recording 94 saves.
Class 2A
- Nora Barnett, North Scott: Opponents have found it nearly impossible to score on Barnett, as she has allowed just nine goals in 1,145 minutes with 100 saves.
- Hadley Wolfe, Fort Madison: The senior has 38 goals and 13 assists in 15 matches played, as she is the leading goalscorer in the class.
- Addy Wood, Norwalk: Wood leads the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A with 11 goals, adding six assists.
- Anaka Ott, Waverly-Shell Rock: The senior has registered 22 goals with eight assists this season for the Go-Hawks.
- Irelynn White, Lewis Central: White has put 28 shots into the net and assisted on 11 more for the Titans.
Class 1A
- Maelyn Kluever, Maquoketa: Among the leading players in goals scored this year is Kluever, as the senior has 47 and another 24 assists – which leads Class 1A.
- Morgan Crees, Panorama: Crees has been among the top scorers over the past few seasons, recording 46 this year with 14 assists.
- Meadow Lane, Colfax-Mingo: Just a sophomore, Lane has another 45 goals added to her resume.
- Addyson Shepard, Denver: The sophomore sits atop the Cyclones list with 26 goals in addition to her 17 assists.
- Addy Oetker, Des Moines Christian: One of the top athletes in the state, Oetker has 24 goals and 21 assists on the season.
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The Iowa State Cyclones had to undergo some major changes with their men’s basketball roster this offseason.
Four key rotation players from their incredible 2025-26 team, Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise, won’t be back with the team. However, the Cyclones were able to successfully fill those voids on the roster with five players in the transfer portal and three players in their Class of 2026.
Other programs that have spent the offseason upgrading their rosters may not be as fortunate. The new NCAA eligibility requirements could significantly alter the outlook of many teams across the country, with a particular focus on international players.
After virtually everyone was granted eligibility to play in the 2025-26 season, rule changes came down in May that will impact several programs. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated named a few players who may no longer be eligible to participate in the 2026-27 season: Quinn Ellis (St. John’s Red Storm), Saliou Niang (LSU Tigers), Márcio Santos (LSU Tigers) and Mantas Rubštavičius (Auburn Tigers).
NCAA eligiblity rules will have major impact on men’s college basketball
Some Iowa State fans will see that and wonder how this could impact players on their team. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger has done a great job with international recruiting in recent years, unearthing gems such as Killyan Toure and Dominykas Pleta in the Class of 2026.
In the Class of 2026, one of Toure’s former teammates, big man Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan, committed to the Cyclones.
Luckily for Iowa State, none of those players are going to be impacted by the new eligibility rules and should maintain their ability to suit up for the Cyclones during the 2026-27 campaign.
Toure played high school basketball at Brewster Academy before coming to Ames. Rinaldo-Komlan is currently with SPIRE Academy. Pleta played in the Porsche Ludwigsburg, which has a professional-level team, but he was with the academy team, which is the equivalent of high school basketball.
Cyclones won’t be impacted by eligibility rule changes
While the rules about international players are constantly changing, all of the players who have come from overseas who are with Iowa State should remain eligible. The focus of the new rules is on players who have professional experience internationally and are older prospects.
That isn’t an area of recruiting that Otzelberger has had to turn to during his tenure with the Cyclones, and thankfully so. He has excelled in finding high school players and anyone in the transfer portal who fit into the game plan they are looking to execute with a focus on defensive intensity.
Iowa State can proceed as they have been, knowing they won’t be losing any players to eligibility concerns because of international professional experience.
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