Thirty Iowans are among the more than 43,000 current, past and would-be farmers, ranchers and forest owners nationwide that the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday will get a total of $2 billion in financial assistance to compensate for past discrimination in the agency’s farm lending programs.

The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $2.2 billion for the discrimination payments. For decades, Black farmers and other under-represented groups in farming have alleged bias in the agency’s farm loan programs.

“For too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The recipients of the payments include more than 23,000 people who have or previously had a farming operation, and another 20,000 who reported they were unable to have a farming operation because of discrimination in USDA’s loan process.

In Iowa, the breakdown is 21 current producers and nine who planned to be.

Farm loans from the USDA often are considered a last resort for farmers who have difficulty accessing credit from traditional banks.

Examples of types of discrimination farmers have faced could include elevated interest rates, having a loan approved too late in the farming season or a lack of assistance from loan officers, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters on a conference call.

“USDA was operating on a deficit of trust with many of our customers and potential customers,” said the former Iowa governor. “They didn’t feel our programs were designed for them, and in many cases, they were right.”

Southern states get largest payments

The USDA began accepting applications for the money last July. Farmers needed to detail their experiences of discrimination by USDA personnel and the consequences they experienced as a result.

The USDA did not provide names or demographic information for farmers who received payments. The Iowa claimants will get a total of $3.7 million, though it wasn’t clear how the money would be divided among them.

Mississippi and Alabama recipients received the largest number of payments, according to the agency. In the Midwest, Illinois, Michigan and South Dakota were the leading states.

Des Moines Register staff writer Donnelle Eller and Reuters contributed to this article.

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.

—

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.

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.