2014 Iowa Governor's race: on Government Reform

Terry Branstad: 2010: No fees for government records; 2011: imposed fees

But almost immediately after taking office in 2011, Branstad began imposing those same fees. In September, the Register agreed to pay $626 for a legal review of 677 emails involving the Iowa Juvenile Home. The Register paid the fee, but the state, under a policy endorsed by the Iowa attorney general, initially decided to keep 1/3 of the requested emails confidential.

[In 2013], the Register requested detailed information on the number of youths kept in isolation cells at the Iowa Juvenile Home. The Iowa Department of Human Services responded that it would compile the information if the newspaper first paid $31,776. The newspaper rejected the proposal, and the state later provided similar information at no charge.