Keeping a candidate for governor off the ballot.

And the most famous seven miles in The Cities.

[lively music] [music ends] We are just days away from thousands of runners showing that seven miles can't stop them, even when one of those miles is going straight up the Brady Stree hill.

We're talking big seven.

That's still ahead.

But first one less choice.

After a challenge that his Lieutenant governor hadn't filed the proper paperwork, Iowa Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Gluba is now off the ballot, but he and his running mate, Jules Cutler, are challenging the decision by the Iowa State objection panel.

It's a victor for the Iowa Republican Party, which challenged their eligibility to be on the November ballot because Cutler didn't provid the Secretary of State's office with the needed affidavit for candidacy.

That third party candidates are required to provide.

We talked with Nicholas Gluba about the legal challenge to that ruling, his quest to become governor, and why he's part of the Libertarian Party.

Well, thank you for joining us.

I mean, do you think that you're going to remain off the ballot into November?

No, I, so our attorneys hav an incredibly solid case on this one.

We've I was actually just talking to them, not quite an hour ago.

They're incredibly confident that with our hearing on the 21st, everything will go our way.

Well, let's go back and kind of explain to our listeners and viewers what happened.

Basically, it was challenged, before the state objection panel, on the basis that your lieutenant governor didn't sign an affidavi and submit it to the Secretary of State's office.

That's the argument that is keeping you off the ballot right now.

Yes.

That's correct.

When we went to go file on June 2nd, myself and Lieutenant Governor candidate Jules Cutler both had our affidavits in hand, along with the, was it 8,400 signatures that we had collected for the nominating petition?

I turned in my affidavit of candidacy when Jules went to go turn in her affidavit.

The clerk there and I believe just due to not understanding how, third parties or independents work, sai she didn't need to turn hers in.

And so Jule just put it back in her purse.

The affidavit was filled out.

I was there when we filled them out.

I was ready to go.

We just needed, the clerk to accept it.

And, just because she wasn't aware she didn't take it at the time.

Probably assuming that because Democrat and Republican parties, they get their lieutenan governor is by convention vote, as opposed to third parties or independents.

We have to, during the signature collection process, already have the name of our lieutenant governor on the petitions.

So ours is chosen well before that.

Well, and as you've pointed out or alluded to, is that the Democrats and the Republican, you don't need that affidavit for the lieutenant governor, bu but for third parties, you do.

Yes.

Fo third parties and independents.

You do need that.

Which, we had, that's why we had it with us when we [?].

And then the clerk just by not knowing the procedure, decided not to take it And though, we could have very easily just come back in later that day.

You know, there was still a few hours that they were open and turned it in then, but she had actually already given.

So she'd already done all the paperwork.

Everything.

The petitions were accepted.

The affidavit, my affidavit, was accepted.

And, you know, we were all good to go and just assumed, okay, well, you know, we took it on good faith that a clerk in the Secretary of State's office and the Lucas building would inherently know what to do.

And it was like, well, okay, well, you know, it's been a few years.

We don't really remember the entire process.

So maybe we just have to turn i our affidavit for a Lt.

governor at a later time, much like the Democrats or Republicans or do after their conventions to get their lieutenant governor candidates.

I can understand the the misunderstanding, but you're running, mate, Jules Cutler is an attorney, right?

I mean, one would wonder, shouldn't she have question that?

Should she have not researched it?

I mean, because the onus really is on the candidate.

Yes.

And we did question it.

And, but the clerk that was there was fairly confident in her speech that we didn't turn it in at that time, which well we found out that she was wrong, but I, we should have had th opportunity to fix that scenario prior to the objections panel.

Well, the objections panel also not only taking, Jules Cutler off the ballot, of course, your name being associated with hers, she's taken off the ballot.

Marco Battaglia running for third district congressman, also a libertarian.

Also taken off the ballot.

Do you think this is like an orchestrated attac towards libertarian candidates?

I, it very much is.

There's really no doubt about that, that it is an orchestrated attac against libertarian libertarian candidates.

This isn't the first time we faced this attack as well.

We had the same issue two years ago where we had an objections panel.

And, we didn't have the ability to overcome that one because it was a, essentially they had an argument that we could not have legally had conventions.

We did have the conventions, but due to legal precedents, the convention were considered null and void.

We've had objections in previous elections that, were sustained or we didn't get, allowed on ballot or we won through appeals process.

Very similar to ho we're looking at this one right now, where we will just take it through an appeal process.

And you were saying also that, it appears that you've gotten a record number for libertarian candidates, a record number of signatures on your petitions.

I mean, did that fill you more confidence, as you're heading into November?

I mean, did you think that perhaps, that was at least a bit of a launching pad for your candidacy?

Oh, most definitely.

I we had a very, very good response while we were doing the signature collection process.

We were doing that for would have been just shy of a year's tim to get all those signatures in.

I myself drove somewhere i the neighborhood of 22,000 miles to collect all the signatures across most of the counties in Iowa.

The counties that I wasn't personally in, we had other signature collectors.

You know, we had various people throughout the party that were collecting signatures in various counties, and I would work with them and go out into any function that they could possibly have.

And, you know, we we felt really, really good with the amount of signatures we had and, everything that we were doing you know, up to that point was very, very good.

And we were incredibly confident on that.

And that's one of the reasons why, you know, how do we get just in that area of the 3500 that is, you know the legal minimum requirement?

You know, we wouldn't have felt so good with that.

And then, you know, the objectio probably would have been more on you know, the signatures themselves.

But with us superseding the goal by all over double, they knew they couldn't possibly have any objections to the signatures themselve just because of how many we had, you know, we and I owe a lot of credit to our team that we had behind us to help collect signatures.

I believe I believe we did have at least some signatures from every county, you know, all 99 counties in the state of Iowa.

And there was 27, I believe it was 27, 28.

And somewhere in that neighborhood where we had over the 100 mark that, because for the signature collection, you have to have at least 3500 signatures, and then you have to have at least 19 counties with over 100 signatures.

So we well, blew that out of the water.

Your court case is going to be heard, on the 21st of July, coming up.

Not being on the ballot right now, has that stopped your campaign in any way?

I mean, what happens after July 21st?

Does your campaign pick up even more steam or or have you just been campaigning anyhow?

Oh, I, I changed absolutely nothing.

I was just in parade for the last couple of weekends.

Tomorrow I have an event in Ames.

Then I believe we have anothe event on this coming Saturday.

We have more events.

I mean, nothing has changed as far as what we're doing.

The only difference is now Jules and Jake, you know, the attorneys they have to go through various different case laws and thing like that, as opposed to myself.

And, you know, the rest of the team, we've been out and very actively campaigning as if everything is completely the way it was on June 30th.

And tell me what you're campaigning on, because libertarians usually are strong believers in propert rights and and less government interference.

Is, are those are the pillars to your campaign?

Those are definitely some of the very, very fundamental pillars of the campaign.

As per they are fundamental pillars of the Libertarian Party in and of itself.

You know, one of the things that I've been campaigning on heavily was the reintroduction of our bill to eliminate the usage and abuse of eminent domain in the state of Iowa.

Our senatorial candidate, Thomas Lane, actually wrote a bill that did go throug the Iowa House and Iowa Senate and then got to the governor's desk.

That would have effectively eliminated the usage and abusage of eminent domain at the state level for the carbon sequestration pipeline, that'll be going from essentially the northwest to southeast corners of the state.

Once that bill got to our governor's desk she decided to openly veto it, which we kind of assume she was going to veto that bill.

Just largely base on who her campaign donors are.

And it was a personal effect of them.

But because it happened so late in the session, we assumed she was going to do what is considered a pocket veto.

And then when it was on her desk for just two days, she had actually outright vetoed it.

And that was a major shock to us.

But, you know and then other campaign things that I have, you know, other big tenants is, improving our public school system here in the state of Iowa.

Now, as you may be aware, when I was going to school here in the state of Iowa, number one in the nation, since then, we have fallen to number 26th in the nation.

And I, I know it is not specifically a libertarian stanc to encourage public schooling, but I don't have the ability t educate, you know, my children or other people's children, as well as somebody that is a dedicated educator, like a public teacher.

So I would like to see our public school system raised back up to, if not that number one status top five, and still strive actively to get back to tha number one status in the nation.

I have little time, little time left.

But I would like to ask, I mean, so do you support school vouchers then?

No, no, I actually believe that the school private the private schoo voucher program was a travesty that we had, private schools are already inherently funded by the fact they were privately, private schools.

So they have tuition, and that actuall robbed from our public schools.

You know, that money should have been put back into the public school system that would help better it, as opposed to put i into the private school system that is already funded by their tuition.

And if you believe in smaller government, do you believe in the DOGE cuts that were occurrin statewide as well as nationwide?

I believe strongly that there was a lot of waste that could have been found throughout the state and at the national level, and a lot of it was found, but then nothing was done about it after they found the wasteful spending throughout the nation and in the state.

You know, we we should have after we found all this wasteful spending, put that money into other programs that are benefit to the state and of the nation.

You know, one of the thing that I personally strongly agree with is funding our Departmen of Natural Resources for water quality issues that we have throughout the state of Iowa.

You know, we have I believe, I believe that specific number that the DNR put out was 70% of Iowa waterways are considered impaired.

And we need that funding that they have found wasteful spending in other areas.

Put that into the DNR and get them out there and use the program, whic we you actually set up a program which is a hybrid of a couple of other states, water clarity acts to put into Iowa so we can fix our water here.

Our thanks to Iowa Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Gluba.

Just ahead, getting ready for the Bix 7.

But first, we're already halfway through the summer, but there are still plenty of events that you can still enjoy, thanks to Visit Quad Cities.

[soft music] Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start your week off by enjoying summer concerts in the park featuring the Tail Fins.

All ages are welcome.

Then, if you're 50 and older and registered for the Bix 7 or Quick Bix, you receiv a free entry to the Senior Bix.

Then get ready to ride along Duck Creek.

All bikes are welcome.

Plus snacks and drinks will be available afterwards.

Next, kids of all age and abilities can participate.

Arconics Junior Bix.

Each participant receives a medal and t-shirt.

Finally, celebrate the 52n running of the Quad City Times Bix 7.

Enjoy the race, live music, enthusiastic crowds, and so much more.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at VisitQuadCities.com.

It's the 51st running of the Bix 7 races.

Now the seven mile run up the Brady Street hill through McClellan Heights and back downtown is perhaps the most famou seven miles in the Quad Cities.

So what can we expect this year?

We talked with race directo Michelle Juehring about the 2026 Bix.

52 years of Bix 7.

I just think it's interesting because whenever I trave and tell people about the Quad Cities, the first thing they say.

Oh, isn't that where the Bix is run?

I mean, it really does have a huge reputation.

It feels good.

Yeah.

And I get that too, when I, when I travel and I wear a Bix shirt.

People oh, I run that.

I've done that.

It's pretty coo right here in the Quad Cities.

And how do you build on that each year?

Because we were talking a little earlie before the program started, on how you've expanded to make sure that it was inclusiv for all different skill levels.

Right.

So back in 1975, we had one race Saturday.

89 people.

We've grown to over eight days, seven events, three cities and two states.

And it is the hard work of the volunteers that before me, the visionary Ed Froehlich, who was the race director for 40 years.

The sponsors that have supporte the community, that's come out and shown us, hey, these ar the things that we want to do.

This is how we still want to be a part, and hopefully we're meeting them where they'd like to be.

Well, it always seems to me that the most daunting thing would be to be at the base of that hill.

The street, hill and looking.

And I've driven it and hit the accelerator.

And when I talk to people who run, they say, no, that's not the toughest part.

That's the easy par because you've got people want you got people lined u all the way around the course, and while we're still seven miles, it's really a three and a half mile course because were going back and you've got people both sides cheering you on.

You've got bands, you've got music.

That first hill it's done before you even know you started.

Yeah that one.

That's what I've heard.

Yeah.

McClellan Heights on the other hand.

Yeah.

That's going to wake you up.

And that surprises me because it's nice.

Because you also have the map and you show the elevations.

And it was like, oh, I never really thought about that area.

Yeah, so, youre coming up a little bit, youre there by Jersey Ridge, and then you think, oh, an then you go up a little bit more but then you go downhill and you turn around and see the Mississippi.

Yeah.

Very beautiful.

And then you're on your way back home.

Yeah.

How special is it to be a part of Bix?

Oh, wow.

I've had the privilege of being part for 24 years.

Race director for seven.

It's pretty cool.

When I went to school, I wanted to be involved in sports in some way.

And whether that was competitive or collegiate or just being part of people moving and coming together, however that may look.

And I feel like my dreams are coming true.

Well, when you talk about getting people moving, I mean, that really seems to be a big deal because as you said, it's it's more than a run.

There's a number of different races.

You also have oh, I want to call it a health clinic.

And it's not.

But you have, you have tha runner's area that really helps people learn a little bit more about their health.

Yes.

So we have a health and fitness expo.

Thank you.

Day and a half.

That's where you pick up you packet pick up and your t shirt.

But there's also health an wellness information in there.

Leading up to the race.

We have four practice runs the Iowa American Water Bix at six.

So thanks to our sponsor we can have a course that is supported.

That means we have Davenport Police out there [?]

club volunteers making sure the course is protected so you can run on the street and we have water out there, so you don't have to bring a camel back, and you can practice running i the heat, running those hills.

See what it's like whether you're a new time runner or you know what to expect, but you just want to get out there and give it a try.

We also have Mercyone Genesis, who provides videos, training videos, not only a calendar.

These are the miles that you run or walk on these days, but also ho do you prevention shin splints?

How should I be hydrating i the heat?

Information like that.

And the key about the run is that I mean, it is competitive for some, but for other it really is just an experience to be a part of something so much bigger than yourself.

Absolutely.

It is so much for so many.

As you know, we do have the elite field.

We have our our competitive field.

We have our sub-elite athletes, no longer professional, but still running fast.

We have competitions within competitions.

And then you have the couch to five K person who for the first time is going to get out there and do it.

And maybe they're just going to do the two mile that morning.

And I don't want to say just two mile, because that can be just as hard as a seven mile for some people.

You can run it, you can walk it.

The race is yours however you want it to be.

And if Saturday race is something that's maybe too much, or maybe you're at an age where your knees can get you up the hill.

And we added the senior Bix Tuesday of race week, ages 50 and older.

It's a flat 1 or 2 mile walk on the Bettendorf bike path over by Iowa Casino Hotel Bettendorf.

We started tha when we had the 50th celebration because it was that population that got us to 50 years, and we wanted to say, here' a way to be part of race week.

May not be able to get Brady Street Hill, but you can still be part of the activities.

If you sign up for the Bix 7 and you're 50 and older, you get to do the Senior Bix for free.

So like, I just want to do the Senior Bix 1 or 2 mile.

Post-race party, live music, and it's not quite as big as the Bix 7, but it's pretty darn close.

Well, and you pointed ou something I think is interesting is that you're interested in getting people to move, you're talking about the people that are over 50 that are still participating, have have you noticed, because runners that used to be just a few people, they looked like they were having the worst time in their lives, you know, as they're running and now you're seeing more and more people at least getting up, moving, taking care of themselves.

Absolutely.

I feel that, my opinion, that as runners we come in all shapes and sizes, but the mentality up here is the same.

We all want to give it our best, give it a try and have fun.

There are a lot of walkers but the ages of our participants, when you have the Junior Bix, you've got crawlers all the way u through, in our late 90s.

Yes.

You also have, as part of the big run is the beat the elite athletes.

And it's two of them, right?

Right.

Explain them and tell me who they are this year.

Because this is a cool idea.

So used to just be one runner.

And our new sponsor Russell added a male and a female runner.

So the idea i they are placed along the course with a head start and when the gun goes off, same time that the field goes, they go.

And if they beat the elite at the finish line, they will win $2,500.

Now a lot of you might say, oh yeah, it still isn't going to work.

We've had a lot of winners.

We have I want to say it's about 50/50.

And while we want them to win, it is competitive.

So we look at past history running.

We look at their Bix at Six times.

We have conversations with the to make sure that where they're placed on the on the cours is where it will be competitive.

So ideally maybe a fiv second head start, so to speak.

Now keep in mind running by yourself.

If you're in tune, you're looking at your watch.

You're like staying on pace.

I got this.

But imagine all these people cheering for you and you got the TV camera in front of you as you're running it would be challenging to get off your game.

So it's not just running your fastest, it's it's also running the race that you've prepared to run.

And it's it is exciting.

So Phil Young is the man.

He is a dad of three, owns, a business, Fleet Feet here in the Quad Cities and in Des Moines.

And the female is Kelsey Allbaugh.

She's a mom.

Her husband is co-owner of Running Wild, and other runnin store here in the Quad Cities.

And this year they were chosen based on, essays that they wrote to say, why choose me?

That is that is neat.

And like you said I mean, the cheering does occur all along the route.

Also along the route, and we were talking about this as well, is the Bix bands.

I mean, you've got entertainment.

It's a party atmosphere for all, what, three and a half miles it is and with the Quick Bix, you know, down there, so the two mile round as well.

Live bands, deejays, people singing with the microphone cheering.

It is exciting.

And we still have room for a couple bands.

So if you want to, we need more cowbell.

Yeah.

You can never have too much excitement and music along the course.

Registration up until the day of the race.

No day before the race, right?

Well, so technically midnigh that night because it's online.

But then you have to get up early Saturday morning to come in, and the line can be long, so register.

Register now online.

Register up till Friday midnight.

Come on out and be a great year.

We also want to congratulate you, of course.

You received the Brea the Tape award from the Chicago Event Management, as well as the Race director of the yea by Road Race Management as well.

I know you're going to say that it's built on the volunteers and the workers you have with you, and also it's the race itself.

It's pure joy.

But still, congratulations on that, that, that, that speaks a lot for you as well as Bix.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

And, both of them wer a complete shock and surprise.

And you're right I feel that there are many names that could go on that awar because I don't work in a silo and I get to work along with so many wonderful people, especially people that have come before us to get us where we are right now.

It's, It feels pretty good.

Yeah.

And it is such a great race weekend.

What do you tell to the people that, that are going to be coming from out of town?

Uh, just want to watch.

Wow.

Soak it in, soak it in.

There's so much.

If you're coming with your family, there's the kids race on Friday.

If you're, if you have someone in your family that's participating, we have a friends and family area there on fourth Street next to the YMCA, where we've got a big jumbotron.

You can watch the race liv while your family is finishing, you know, in the post-race party and meet up.

There's so much to do.

You can do the race virtually.

When I said that the race was eight days starting this Saturday, maybe you're travelin or you've got a family reunion.

You can't be in town that weekend.

You can still be part of the event.

Keep your streak going.

Our thanks to Bix 7 race director Michelle Juehring.

Registration and race information is still available at the race website.

Big 7.com.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer, thanks for taking some time to join us As we talk about the issues on The Cities.

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