By Edward Lynn
Editor
Note: please share this article. It is free for all to read, even non-subscribers.
I’ll admit something up front: I don’t know whether the push to move public notices out of local newspapers is part of some grand strategy by wealthy interests and political operators who would prefer fewer eyes on government decisions.
These days, it would probably be naïve to dismiss that possibility outright.
But conspiracy or not, the real-world consequences of what is happening in the Iowa Legislature right now are clear — and they should concern anyone who believes in transparent government.
The legislation began life as SSB 3175, and it has now moved forward in the process. After passing the Iowa House, the proposal advanced to the Senate under a new number, SF 2434, where it could soon become law.
If enacted, the bill would allow local governments to move certain public notices away from their long-standing home in local newspapers and instead post them online through government systems.
At first glance, that may sound like modernization. After all, much of our daily life now happens online.
But public notices have never existed for the convenience of government. They exist so the public can see what government is doing.
Under current Iowa law, cities, counties and school districts designate an official newspaper each year to publish legal notices. Those notices include budgets, public hearings, ordinance adoptions, bid announcements and other government actions that directly affect taxpayers and property owners.
In addition to the notice provisions, the legislation also would require certain internal policies adopted by city or county departments to be approved through formal ordinances, bringing them before elected officials and onto public agendas. Supporters say the measure would increase transparency and accountability in local decision-making.
But the portion dealing with public notices raises serious concerns.
Supporters argue that expanded online posting could reduce costs and improve access. Critics counter that publishing notices in newspapers creates an independent, verifiable public record that cannot easily be altered or lost.
That distinction matters.
A printed newspaper is a permanent document. Once it exists, it becomes part of the historical record. Copies are archived by the publisher. Many are preserved by local historical societies and libraries. Years later, anyone can still find them.
Websites do not provide the same guarantees. Pages disappear. Links break. Databases get reorganized. Anyone who has tried to locate an old government document online knows how quickly digital information can become difficult — or impossible — to find.
Just as importantly, when public notices appear in local newspapers, they appear where people are already paying attention to their community. Move them to a statewide website, and citizens must know exactly where to look, remember to check regularly, and hope the information is still there when they need it.
That is NOT increased transparency, its very much the opposite.
There is also the practical reality that public notices represent one of the few stable revenue sources supporting local journalism — journalism that covers city councils, county boards, school districts and the very public meetings where these notices originate.
Undermining that revenue weakens the very institutions that help hold local government accountable. So this bill would not only hide information that should be public, it would drive newspapers out of business. And that would give corrupt officials even more cover to enrich themselves at public expense. Talk about nefarious!
But, If lawmakers truly want to modernize public notices, there’s a very simple solution: require both. Continue to publish notices in local newspapers — where they become part of the permanent public record — and post them online so they are easily searchable. Just as we, and the Iowa Newspaper Association, are already doing.
That approach expands access and transparency instead of shrinking it. And instead of being a “solution” that solves nothing and causes problems, it will ensure best practices industry wide, across the state of Iowa.
Which brings us to the most important point: this bill is still moving through the Legislature. If you believe government decisions should remain visible to the public, NOW is the time to speak up.
Contact your state senator. Here in Eagle Grove, we are represented by Senator Dennis Guth. His office can be reached at 515.281.3371, and his legislative email address is dennis.guth@legis.iowa.gov. And those outside Eagle Grove should consult the Iowa Legislature’s Find Your Legislator website, at legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find to get contact information. Tell them that public notices should remain in local newspapers, where they are easy to find and permanently preserved.
Because once transparency disappears, getting it back will be far harder than keeping it would have been, in the first place. And in the meantime, taxpayers stand to be robbed blind.
