Libertarian Party of Iowa: Difference between revisions

The Libertarian Party of Iowa was founded in April of 1975, four years after the national party, by a small group of mostly young adults dissatisfied with the direction our country was heading.  Dr. Bill Bockhoven was our first Chairman. Other members included Bill's wife Doris, John Ball – our first governor's candidate, Gary Roewe, Ben Olson and his mother, Dorothy, and two other people. These members promoted Libertarian ideals by speaking to small groups throughout the state and running for public office. They were active in Ed Clark's presidential campaign of 1980 which had the second percentage vote totals for a Libertarian presidential candidate.

The party dissolved in 1985 as several of the founding members began families or moved out of state. The party also faced financial problems.

Members of the National Libertarian Party living in Iowa came together to re-form the state party with a new charter in 1987. Before this time membership in the national and state party were separate. A new program called the United Membership Program (UMP) allowed members to join both parties for a single fee with the proceeds being split evenly with the national party handling the record keeping and renewal functions.

Over the next 15 plus years the party continued to grow gaining members and winning several local elected offices. In 1996 the party had approximately 80 dues-paying members.The party's first official newsletter was named “Prairie Fire”. By the 1990s the name was changed to “Libertarians in Action” (LIA) because an Iowa socialist group had also began using the name “Prairie Fire” for their newsletter and to get the word Libertarian into the title. Throughout the 1990's and well into the first decade of the 21st century 500 printed copies of Libertarian's in Action were mailed out to members and interested people 4 to 6 times a year. “LIA” is no longer published.