Iowa now requires private businesses to forego redaction of documents supporting bids for public contracts. To omit information they must now justify their requests under existing Iowa law. Allowing redaction had shut out the public in judging awards particularly in 2015 when private companies shielded information in bidding to manage Iowa’s $4.2 million Medicaid program. (The Des Moines Register, August 9, 2016, by Jason Clayworth)
The transparency victory was just one of the Des Moines Register’s recent successes in gaining access to public records, but out-going editor Amalie Nash said that overall they were just fighting to stay even. She says reporters have been blocked in obtaining such records as body-cam footage in investigating police shootings. She has been trying to get the state legislature to pass laws to open up more records for public scrutiny. (Columbia Journalism Review, August 15, 2016, by Deron Lee)