Governor Branstad has appointed nine people to the new Iowa Public Information Board that will help Iowans negotiate the state’s so-called “Sunshine Law.” 

The new state government board will oversee operations of the Iowa Public Information agency. It will be an arbiter of disputes when Iowa citizens and media organizations believe local governments aren’t following the letter of the state’s open meetings and open records law.

Kathleen Richardson, executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, is one of the board’s members, as is Bill Monroe, a retired Iowa Newspaper Association executive. Monroe has been advising Governor Branstad on government transparency issues since Branstad retook the governor’s office in January of 2011.

Other members of the Iowa Public Information Board include Jo Martin of Spirit Lake, publisher of the Iowa Falls newspaper; former Republican state legislator Andy McKean of Anamosa; Urbandale Mayor Robert Andeweg;  Suzan Stewart, a Sioux City attorney who works for MidAmerican Energy; and Carroll County Treasure Peggy Weitl.  Gary Mohr, an administrator at the Palmer Chiropractic College, and Tony Gaughan of West Des Moines, a new Drake University Law School professor, are also on the panel.