open records law | Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism

government transparency

‘Trade Secrets’ Shouldn’t Trump Accountability

By Randy Evans/Stray Thoughts | July 31, 2018

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.

Education

School District Responses Show Varied Interpretations Of Iowa Open Records Law

By Libby Collins | April 4, 2014

Parents, or any member of the public for that matter, who ask some of Iowa’s largest school districts how their district deals with emergency lock downs for their children’s safety would have difficulty obtaining the district’s policy.

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Investigative Reporting in Iowa

Search warrant documents show police went to U of I fraternity in sex assault allegation probe

Documents The Daily Iowan obtained show police searched a University of Iowa fraternity last year in a case involving sexual assault allegations that have provoked demonstrations at the fraternity and elsewhere on campus.

Source: The Daily Iowan (Iowa City)

Records show concern among Iowa public safety leaders about border trip

Iowa's public safety leaders had concerns about staffing levels at home and the costs of sending state troopers to the U.S.-Mexican border in Texas at a time when the state was not releasing details about the July trip. The story and copies of records.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)