Three Iowa Libertarian candidates for Congress have been removed from the ballot by Republicans on the state objection panel in action taken Wednesday.
First Congressional District candidate Nicholas Gluba, Third District candidate Marco Battaglia, and Fourth District candidate Charles Aldrich won’t be on the ballot, unless a court overturns the panel’s decision by September 3.
The two Republicans on the objection panel—Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird—agreed with GOP objectors that the Libertarians didn’t follow state law regarding the timing of their county conventions.
Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand voted to keep the Libertarians on the ballot.
Libertarian Party of Iowa Chair Jules Carter says she’s disappointed in the decision but not surprised.
“It is about silencing us. Yes, it is about making sure that they are better position to win. If you want to win, how about you campaign, not silence other people?” Carter said.
The three candidates say they’ll run write-in campaigns if their names can’t be on the ballot.
*Additionally, the Sioux City School Board members are already thinking ahead to the 2025 legislative year.
In their meeting this week, they discussed asking the state for more money to all public schools, and to stop diverting money from public schools to private schools with a program that is now in its second year.
In that latter piece, the board members discussed how taxpayer funded scholarships, in the form of the Educational Savings Accounts program, to private schools do not equate to school choice. They said private schools are not required to accept all students, and do not operate the same as public schools in relation to accountability and oversight.
Among the possibilities to bring to Iowa legislators also included asking for 5 percent in the Supplemental State Aid amount that comes to K-12 schools. In the current school year just underway, the Legislature passed 3 percent, or an increase of $229 per student, which brings the state's per-pupil spending to $7,864.
The Sioux City School Board members also discussed the possibility of asking legislators for more money to districts that have at-risk students living in poverty.
*In other news, the Iowa Utilities Commission held a hearing Tuesday to review potential changes to the state’s renewable energy rules.
Environmental groups claim the current rules, written in 2017, are outdated and have been used by utilities to mislead Iowans about their renewable energy usage. They want them rescinded and new rules put in place.
Josh Mandelbaum is an attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
“We think that they're at this point, actively causing harm to the public by facilitating, legitimizing and failing to hold account on deceptive utility practices," he said.
Mandelbaum says MidAmerican Energy claimed to deliver 100% renewable energy to customers in 2022, but that wasn’t true because the company still relied on power from coal plants.
However, a representative for MidAmerican Energy denied the claim and said the company does not mislead customers.
* The University of South Dakota will be part of a project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation that will develop sustainable refrigerants to address climate change.
USD is among six colleges who will receive a combined $26 million to establish a Gen-4 Engineering Research Center – Environmental Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub, to create a sustainable and circular refrigerant economy.
The program aims to bring universities and businesses together to strengthen the competitive position of American industry in the global marketplace.
The EARTH project includes USD, University of Kansas, University of Notre Dame, University of Maryland, University of Hawaii and Lehigh University.
Haoran Sun, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, is USD’s principal investigator. Sun will collaborate with USD faculty and students to contribute to the project, which he exuberantly praised in a release as a great opportunity for students to work on cutting-edge research to address climate change.
*The unofficial end to summer this upcoming weekend is expected to draw thousands of Iowans to state parks and waterways.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources personnel are looking forward to seeing Iowans, but also are reminding them to be safe while out on Labor Day weekend. Campgrounds at the state parks are expected to be very busy.
People who plan to go boating are encouraged to avoid peak hours that can bring out large crowds of boaters, to wear life jackets, and to not drie boats when consuming alcohol.
Iowa’s public beaches and many county beaches do not have lifeguards on duty, so people should be watchful of family members, a DNR release said.
