Iowans in poll favor more effort into providing access to public meetings and...
From The Gazette: Two in three Iowans polled favor the creation of a board in state government to handle citizen complaints about violations of open meetings and access to government documents. The...
View ArticleIowa View: Private, public matters not easy to separate
Opinion from The Des Moines Register: I was at a dinner party not long after the scandal erupted over former Des Moines schools Superintendent Nancy Sebring’s emails. At one point, the hostess turned...
View Article'Walking quorums' block Iowa government openness
From Press-citizen.com: During the Sept. 18 open government workshop with the Iowa Newspaper Association, local citizens learned much about how to use the state’s public records and open meetings laws...
View ArticlePublic meetings and records are focus of Iowa workshops
From The Des Moines Register: Open-government advocates are sponsoring three workshops next month to help Iowa citizens become more engaged, according to a news release.read more
View ArticleClik here to view.
Iowa FOI Council 2013 edition of annual newsletter
From Iowa Freedom of Information Council: The annual newletter from Iowa FOI Council is out. Among many things of interest is notice of the 15th edition of the Open Meetings/Open Records...
View ArticleIowa Freedom of Information Council: Iowa more open with public information
From press-citizen.com: The Iowa Freedom of Information Council released its annual “State of Freedom of Information in Iowa” report at its annual business meeting Thursday in Iowa City, detailing a...
View ArticleCity officials may be financially liable in open meetings lawsuit
Clinton city (IA) officials and former city officials involved in a lawsuit filed by a citizen’s group over closed meeting records are being advised they could be personally liable if there are any...
View ArticleIowa’s largest paper tries to shift the state’s culture toward transparency
In its own polite, Midwestern fashion, The Des Moines Register is mad as heck and is not going to take it anymore. After Iowa officials refused to release records showing alleged abuses by state...
View ArticleEDITORIAL: End secrecy with lawmakers' trips
During the legislative session and when lawmakers are not in session, the Legislatureís website at legis.sd.gov provides a wealth of information about proposed laws, committee hearings and votes. But...
View ArticleUniversity of Iowa failed to open letter from Freedom of Information Council
University of Iowa officials say they weren't intentionally ignoring a letter from the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. It's just that no one had gotten around to opening the letter until last...
View ArticleIowa: Celebrating a Free Press and Open Government
The fourth annual Celebrating a Free Press and Open Government Banquet, titled "Forty Years, Freedom of Information: The Fight Continues," will celebrate the forty-year anniversary of the Iowa Freedom...
View ArticleDes Moines Register gets a win in an uphill fight for transparency
Not long after taking over as editor of the Des Moines Register in 2014, Amalie Nash told CJR that she was determined to uphold the paper’s “longstanding tradition of standing up for public...
View Article