government transparency

Secrecy Doesn’t Serve Indian Hills Community College’s Best Interests

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There’s an old expression that officials of Indian Hills Community College obviously have not heard about — or have chosen to ignore. The expression is simple: If you find yourself in a hole, stop shoveling. But the school continues to shovel — digging itself ever deeper into legal trouble and into a public relations quagmire. Randy Evans
STRAY THOUGHTS
Randy Evans is the executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. He is a former editorial page editor and assistant managing editor of The Des Moines Register.

government transparency

‘Trade Secrets’ Shouldn’t Trump Accountability

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The Iowa Legislature wrote some wonderful concepts into the state’s government transparency laws. … But increasingly, 11 other words in the public records law are causing headaches for Iowans who want to monitor the decisions their government makes.

opinion

Don’t Hide Government Officials From The Public

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I sometimes think government officials overlook the important role the public plays in our system of government. That was my takeaway last week from the monthly meeting of the Iowa Public Information Board. When Mrs. Gentry lectured in my high school government classes 50+ years ago, I remember her talking about how American government is participatory. The public can attend meetings of government boards, she told us. People are free to express their opinions to government leaders.

David Jamison

Government Officials Should Not View The Public As An Annoyance

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My role as executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council has taken me from border to border in our state. The message I’ve preached at each stop is a simple one: Transparency is a fundamental part of good government, and government officials risk undermining their respect and credibility when they try to minimize their accountability to the citizens. Two recent events in Iowa illustrate the soundness of my sermon. Those events show that transparency often turns out to be elusive — especially when officials worry about being embarrassed or about the potential fallout from an informed public. Randy Evans
STRAY THOUGHTS
Randy Evans is the executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council.

It’s Wrong To Keep Taxpayers In The Dark

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One of the nastiest controversies in local government in Iowa in many years was the impeachment in May of Muscatine Mayor Diana Broderson by the city council. The case isn’t over.

Government & Politics

Iowa Draws A Lowly D+ In New Government Transparency Report

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The fact that state authorities sought to obstruct disclosure of a police shooting in Burlington explains, in part, why Iowa received an overall grade of D+ in a 2015 State Integrity Investigation conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity.

Blog

Brian Cooper, Michael Gartner Named IowaWatch Free Press Champions

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Two longtime Iowa journalists — Brian Cooper, editor of The Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, and First Amendment advocate Michael Gartner, owner of the Iowa Cubs baseball team — were honored by the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch Thursday, Oct. 2, with Free Press Champion Awards. The awards are for their efforts promoting and showing by example the benefits of transparent government in Iowa.