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

Census takers in Iowa sound the alarm about technology, training deficiencies

Iowa's census workers say they fear their count won't be accurate because of poor training, technology problems and other concerns during a troublesome 2020.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)

Worst dicamba damage in decades

Damage the herbicide dicamba has done to soybeans and trees is the worst seen since the controversial weed killer hit the market in the 1960s.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)