The ACLU and three Iowa journalists who sued the governor for not promptly responding to public records requests say their settlement shows government officials must follow the public records law.
Thomas Story is a staff attorney with the ACLU of Iowa. He says the case should send a message to all government officials.
“Nobody’s above the law. It starts at the top, and it goes all the way down. State, local government entities should take notice that this is our open records law, and it applies, and it is strong.”
Governor Kim Reynolds has agreed to pay $135,000 in taxpayer dollars in attorney fees as part of the settlement. Her office is also under court supervision for a year to make sure the plaintiffs’ records requests are fulfilled.
Reynolds’ office has said responses to records requests were “unintentionally delayed” while her staff was busy with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of Iowa’s top Democrats marked the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision by pledging to fight to keep abortion legal in the state. IPR’s Katarina Sostaric reports.
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says the year since the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to abortion has been challenging.
“This past year has been a cautionary tale for states going too far. And it’s one that Iowa should learn from. We have seen in other states that women have almost died from miscarriages and not getting the care they need.”
Konfrst says she thinks the Republican-majority legislature will hold a special session to ban abortion following a recent Iowa Supreme Court order that didn’t allow a 6-week ban to take effect. But it’s not clear how far they’ll go.
She says Democrats have proposed bills to support abortion rights and reproductive health. And that it’s important for Iowans to speak out in support of abortion rights and bodily autonomy.
Iowans who want to ban abortion celebrated the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision with a rally at the statehouse over the weekend. But they say there’s more work to do in Iowa as abortion is still legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says she’s disappointed that the Iowa Supreme Court didn’t allow a 6-week abortion ban to take effect. She says the fight doesn’t stop there.
“We’ll continue to be a voice for those who can’t speak for themselves. And not only will we advocate in the courtroom and in the legislature and in public policy, but we’ll also build a culture of life to eliminate the desire for something like abortion.”
Leaders of anti-abortion groups are asking Republican lawmakers to hold a special legislative session to ban abortion. GOP leaders have said they’ll work to restrict abortion, but it’s not clear when they’ll do that or what specific law they’ll pass.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is hiring three new attorneys for the Statewide Prosecutions Section in the Iowa Department of Justice. Check out Radio Iowa for the full story.
The ACLU and three Iowa journalists who sued the governor for not promptly responding to public records requests say their settlement shows government officials must follow the public records law.
Thomas Story is a staff attorney with the ACLU of Iowa. He says the case should send a message to all government officials.
“Nobody’s above the law. It starts at the top, and it goes all the way down. State, local government entities should take notice that this is our open records law, and it applies, and it is strong.”
Governor Kim Reynolds has agreed to pay 135-thousand taxpayer dollars in attorney fees as part of the settlement. Her office is also under court supervision for a year to make sure the plaintiffs’ records requests are fulfilled.
Reynolds’ office has said responses to records requests were “unintentionally delayed” while her staff was busy with the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Cherokee man has pleaded not guilty of driving away from the scene of a fatal collision with a bicyclist in December.
The Sioux City Journal reports 29-year-old Casey Herwig, entered his written plea Friday in Cherokee County District Court to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. His trial was scheduled for Sept. 12.
Florida scored the most runs in the history of the College World Series in a 24-4 rout of LSU that forced a deciding Game 3 of the CWS finals. The Gators hit six home runs on a windy day at Charles Schwab Field and pounded LSU pitching for a CWS record-tying 23 hits a day after Ty Floyd struck out 17 in the Tigers’ 4-3, 11-inning win in Game 1. Florida came in having been involved in four of the CWS record-tying eight one-run games. The Gators had totaled 17 runs in four games here before the offense broke loose.
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