Iowa transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from Iowa.
Glenwood records access tab is $2,280, state says
November 3, 2008: The Iowa Department of Human Services says anyone wanting access to selected e-mails about the decisions made at the troubled Glenwood home for the disabled will first have to pay $2,280.
Last week, The Des Moines Register asked for eight weeks' worth of department e-mails related to the state-run Glenwood Resource Center, where 10 residents have died this year.
In response, department spokesman Roger Munns said there were 6,850 e-mails that were potentially relevant to the Register's request made under Iowa's open-records law. Read the full article here.
UI sues over public-records law
October 23, 2008: The UI entered into a lawsuit with the Des Moines Register Tuesday, seeking clearer guidelines in regard to public-records requests.
The suit - filed on behalf of the UI by the Iowa Attorney General's Office - is in response to an Oct. 1 request by the Register, which asked the UI for all documents related to sexual assaults involving UI students within the past three years. Read the full article here.
Democrats turn over Republican court files
October 5, 2008: Iowa Democrats scoured public records and documented that several Republican Iowa House candidates have criminal charges in their backgrounds.
Then they provided a neatly labeled binder full of records to The Des Moines Register.
Republicans are furious that Democrats delved so deeply into their personal lives by poring over public documents on bitter small-claims cases, financial woes, child-support disputes and messy divorces. Read the full article here.
Local TV station files petition asking city for e-mails
September 30, 2008: KGAN-TV (Channel 2) is accusing the city of Cedar Rapids and the Cedar Rapids City Council of violating the Iowa Open Records Act.
Sinclair Acquisition IV, owner of KGAN-TV, is asking the city to turn over copies of e-mails sent to and from the e-mail accounts of all City Council members between the dates of June 11 and Sept. 9, according to petition filed Friday in Linn County District Court. Read the full article here.
Index: Probe yielded 3,200 pages of documents
September 16, 2008: The University of Iowa withheld hundreds, if not thousands, of pages documents in response to open records requests related to its handling of the Oct. 14, 2007, alleged sexual assault involving former Hawkeye football players. Read the full article here.
Access to your government: A mixed bag
September 16, 2008: The Iowa Freedom of Information Council's annual meeting takes place Friday in Des Moines, so it has me reflecting on the status of public access to government.
The bottom line: It could be worse, but it could be a whole lot better. Read the full column here.
District judge denies injunction in county administrator hiring
September 11, 2008: Concluding a sometimes testy hearing, Scott County District Judge Charles H. Pelton denied a temporary injunction against Scott County over open meetings and open records in the hiring of a county administrator.
Tuesday’s ruling went against Thomas C. Fritzsche, a former assistant county attorney who filed a lawsuit in June claiming the Board of Supervisors violated the state’s Open Meetings Act during the hiring process for county administrator. Read the full article here.
UPDATE: Site with SS numbers essentially shut down
September 9, 2008: A Web site containing Iowans’ Social Security numbers has essentially been shut down and a method of circumventing protections to gain access has been eliminated, state officials said this afternoon.
Access to public records on the site will be unavailable “indefinitely,” said Phil Dunshee, a project manager for http://IowaLandRecords.org. “Until I think the governor, legislature, ombudsman, members of the association and the general public feel like we’re handling the data in an appropriate way and understands what these records are, we’re going to exercise a great deal of caution.” Read the full article here.
Records culled over ID theft fears
September 4, 2008: Detailed public land records published on a Web site sponsored by Iowa elected officials were removed Wednesday because of identity theft concerns.
DesMoinesRegister.com first reported Tuesday that a land records site - IowaLandRecords.org - was drawing complaints from privacy watchdogs and people whose private information was on the site, including the Social Security numbers of Gov. Chet Culver and Secretary of State Michael Mauro. Read the full article here.
Closed session of Des Moines school board troubles critics
August 25, 2008: A Des Moines school board decision to conduct a closed-door meeting without public notice or a written record of what was discussed has drawn criticism from advocates for open government.
Last month's "exempt session" centered on Superintendent Nancy Sebring's contract. Iowa law allows board members to meet privately to "discuss strategy in matters relating to employment conditions," but critics say such secrecy only breeds taxpayer mistrust. Read the full article here.
Governor clamps lid on disaster draft report
August 16, 2008: Gov. Chet Culver's staff refused this week to release a draft report that outlines Iowa's housing recommendations after the floods.
The final report will be used to help state leaders navigate upcoming recovery efforts. What it says — largely a product of public input — could play a major role in the amount and types of additional assistance provided to families affected by the flood. Read the full article here.
Judge wants list of papers in U of I sex case
August 9, 2008: The University of Iowa and the Johnson County attorney's office have one month to produce two indexes of the documents regarding the alleged Oct. 14, 2007, sexual assault involving two former Hawkeye football players.
In two rulings issued Thursday, 6th District Judge Mitchell Turner denied the county attorney's application to seal subpoenas and accompanying documents related to the alleged sexual assault in Hillcrest Residence Hall. Read the full article here.
All sides heard for UI documents
August 2, 2008: The fate of sealed documents related to the investigation of an alleged sexual assault at University of Iowa last fall now is in the hands of a Sixth District judge.
Judge Mitchell Turner told the parties interested in those documents that he would come to a decision about whether or not they would be made public as soon as possible. Read the full article here.
Iowa ombudsman urges lawmakers to update open records laws
June 11, 2008: The state ombudsman is urging legislators to update state laws on a range of issues relating to public access to government records.
Ombudsman William Angrick says the Legislature failed to approve revisions this year but that lawmakers set the stage for future action.
Angrick was speaking Tuesday before the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee.
He told lawmakers that enforcement of laws governing access to government meetings and records was especially important and that he was working more closely with the state attorney general and auditor. Link to article.
Iowa ombudsman urges lawmakers to update open records laws
June 11, 2008: The state ombudsman is urging legislators to update state laws on a range of issues relating to public access to government records.
Ombudsman William Angrick says the Legislature failed to approve revisions this year but that lawmakers set the stage for future action.
Angrick was speaking Tuesday before the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee.
He told lawmakers that enforcement of laws governing access to government meetings and records was especially important and that he was working more closely with the state attorney general and auditor. Link to article
