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
This editorial appeared in the Feb. 21, 2016, edition of the Quad-City Times. There’s no longer any question: Deliberations at Davenport City Hall are intentionally obfuscated exercises in secrecy. And the lack of accountability shielding each and every member of … Continue Reading
Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, issued the following statement today following an important Iowa Supreme Court decision in a lawsuit against the Warren County Board of Supervisors. The Iowa FOI Council and Iowa Newspaper … Continue Reading
By Erin Jordan Cedar Rapids Gazette In a victory for open government advocates, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday [March 18, 2016] that elected officials can’t skip public meetings by communicating through a government employee as a proxy. The court … Continue Reading
The following editorial appeared in Friday’s edition of the Storm Lake Times. The editorial was written by the newspaper’s editor, Art Cullen. The editorial makes an excellent case why county officials are mistaken for failing to keep the public informed … Continue Reading
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council this week joined the Storm Lake Times’ continuing effort to persuade county officials in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties to release documents pertaining to the counties’ legal fees in defending the lawsuit brought by the Des Moines … Continue Reading
By Tom Cullen Storm Lake Times The three counties defending a lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works refuse to release details about their legal expenses. The counties have rebuffed several requests by The Storm Lake Times over the … Continue Reading
This editorial appeared in The Des Moines Register on March 7, 2016. Just when you thought allegations surrounding the campus police at the University of Iowa couldn’t get much worse, the news broke last week that members of the Board of … Continue Reading
This editorial appeared in the Des Moines Sunday Register on March 13, 2016. In courthouses across Iowa, there are hundreds of search warrants that remain sealed from public view years after they were approved by judges. Most, if not all, … Continue Reading
This column was written for Iowa’s newspapers by Rox Laird, a retired Des Moines Register editorial writer and longtime member of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council’s executive committee. Iowans will see a lot of discussion in the news media … Continue Reading