Transparency (or lack of it) in Iowa government

A discussion with Randy Evans

I enjoy visiting Iowa City and am always happy for a chance to talk with Randy Evans, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. The League of Women Voters of Johnson County made both things happen on Wednesday at an event hosted by the Iowa City Public Library.

Randy and I discussed the challenges facing reporters and members of the public who are tracking the work of state or local government. According to Randy (who’s been working in this area for more than 50 years), things have never been worse on the transparency front. We both shared some stories about barriers to obtaining public records. The last 40 minutes or so were for Q&A.

Speaking of Q&A, the Iowa Writers Collaborative is hosting our monthly Zoom call on Friday, January 27, starting at noon. Suzanna de Baca, who shares poetry and other thoughts at Dispatches from the Heartland, will facilitate the discussion.

This event is for paying subscribers. I’m putting the Zoom link below. If you are a free subscriber to this newsletter but pay for any other column in our group, you should receive the Zoom link from that person.

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists 

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics: Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

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