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Restricting access to public notices poses a threat to the public
Rick Morain, former editor-publisherJefferson Bee and Herald newspapers This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Iowans want to know what their local governments—county supervisors, city councils, school boards—are up to. They always have. The very first newspapers in many of the state’s counties regularly published local public notices, paid for by…
Read MoreGovernment losing sight of serving the public
Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Several times a week, someone reaches out to me because they had difficulty learning about a government meeting or ran into obstacles trying to get government records. These calls and emails to the Iowa Freedom of Information…
Read MoreRegister editor: Big tech is squeezing the finances of newspapers in Iowa and across U.S.; here’s how an antitrust bill could help
Google and Facebook stack the deck against newspapers and broadcasters by refusing to compensate publishers for the work their journalists produce. This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Carol HunterDes Moines Register Just as Iowa is a state of small towns, it’s a state boasting an extraordinary number of small but…
Read MoreGovernment needs room for common sense
Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council This article is free to use and publish in your publication. People like to talk about what the law says. And in Iowa, the law has a lot to say. Just look at the Iowa Code. It now fills eight volumes and costs $295 for a complete set.…
Read MoreCharter schools must have sunshine, too
Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council This article is free to use and publish in your publication. The 2021 session of the Iowa Legislature will end in a few weeks, and one big issue moving toward a final vote would make charter schools easier to create as an alternative to the traditional K-12 public…
Read MoreHow you can still lose while winning in court
Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Many years ago, during a conversation with an old lawyer, he made a comment I still remember: “You can sue the bishop of Boston for bastardy, but that doesn’t mean you are going to collect.” It was…
Read MoreIowa should stop keeping police discipline secret
Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council This article is free to use and publish in your publication. The actions of journalists and police officers were in the spotlight last week in a Des Moines courtroom. The scrutiny came at the trial of Andrea Sahouri, a Des Moines Register reporter. She was arrested while…
Read MoreIt’s a violation of free press rights to bring to trial a Des Moines Register reporter arrested while covering a protest
This article is free to use and publish in your publication. By Carol Hunter, executive editorThe Des Moines Register Freedom of the press stands alongside freedom of religion, speech, assembly and petition as the rights guaranteed by the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That makes the upcoming trial of a Des Moines Register reporter…
Read MoreRepeat after me: Let the public know
This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Randy Evans, executive directorIowa Freedom of Information Council The purpose was pretty simple when the Iowa Legislature wrote the state’s public meetings law many years ago: Government boards are required to announce their meetings at least one day in advance, and officials must tell the…
Read MoreNo justification for shutting the public out
This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Randy Evans, executive director Iowa Freedom of Information Council There are some high-minded legal principles written into Iowa laws and rulings by our state’s Supreme Court. But in recent weeks, one of those sound principles has run into a few closed-minded state officials and…
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