Reporting by the Associated Press’ Ryan Foley has once again brought public attention to the troubling secrecy within the Iowa Department of Public Safety. The latest example is the dismissal of an Iowa State Patrol supervisor, Sgt. Michael Haugen of … Continue Reading
Keith Luchtel, a longtime advocate for government transparency, was appointed to the Iowa Public Information Board today by Gov. Terry Branstad. Branstad also named Luchtel the governor’s special advisor for government transparency in the Branstad administration. The position is a … Continue Reading
This editorial appeared in The Des Moines Register on May 22, 2016. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council shares the Register’s concern over the secrecy that Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino has thrown up over the Internal Revenue Service’s objections … Continue Reading
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council has called on Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert to share with the public the department’s draft policy that will govern the use of officer-worn body cameras and the video from those cameras. The … Continue Reading
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council joins with Iowa court officials, lawyers and others in mourning the death of one of the towering figures in the history of Iowa’s judicial system, W. Ward Reynoldson. The retired chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court died … Continue Reading
This column is appearing in several Iowa newspapers. The author is the executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. By Randy Evans On Friday when most Iowans were celebrating this team’s or that team’s victory in the NCAA … Continue Reading
This column was written by a retired editorial writer for The Des Moines Register and longtime official of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. By Rox Laird After a half century of refusing to allow cameras in their courtrooms, federal … Continue Reading
The following editorial appeared in the March 18, 2016, edition of the Muscatine Journal. You wouldn’t expect to see issues locally like legislative bodies blocking an executive branch’s nominations akin to the antics in Washington, D.C. And you wouldn’t … Continue Reading
By Emily Wenger Muscatine Journal, March 18, 2016 Muscatine City Council members exchanged a series of emails beginning Feb. 29, which may be a violation of Iowa Code. According to Iowa Public Information Board Deputy Director Margaret Johnson, in a … Continue Reading
This editorial appeared in the March 18, 2016, editions of the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Iowa Utilities Board’s decision last week green-lighting construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline marked the end of a long and very public consideration of the … Continue Reading