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Charter 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…
Read MoreThe governor has to follow the law, too
This article is free to use and publish in your publication. Randy Evans, executive director Iowa Freedom of Information Council When the Iowa Legislature wrote the state’s public records law 50 years ago, lawmakers wanted to guarantee that anyone could obtain copies of state and local government records that are not designated by statute to…
Read MoreWhite and privileged
Julie Gammack, guest columnist This column is free to publish in your publication. A woman I’ve known for decades called last week and said, “I need to process something. It’s not easy to talk about.” Now, there’s a conversation starter. She was referring to discomfort she was feeling to the Black Lives Matter movement. She,…
Read MoreCoronavirus secrecy erodes the public’s confidence
Randy Evans, Executive DirectorIowa Freedom of Information Council The relationship between government and the governed is a delicate arrangement, even in the best of times. Government wants us to pay our taxes. It wants us to obey its laws and directives. Citizens, in turn, expect certain things from government, things like good schools, parks, law…
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