Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand issued a report Thursday that says more than $400,000 in taxpayer money was improperly spent through a program run by Iowa Workforce Development. At a press conference Thursday, Sand characterized the matter as a case of “embezzlement” that involves programs funded by the U.S. Department of Labor and administered […]
Rob Sand
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Kim Reynolds job approval rating hits a new low in the Iowa Poll
The number of Iowans who approve of the job Gov. Kim Reynolds is doing has dropped to an all-time low, according to the latest Iowa Poll. In the poll published Tuesday by the Des Moines Register, only 45 percent of respondents approve of Reynolds’ actions as governor. That’s the lowest job approval number for the governor […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Lawmakers express outrage over City of Davenport’s ‘disgraceful’ actions
The Iowa House Committee on Government Oversight held a rare meeting Wednesday to discuss the City of Davenport’s refusal to disclose information tied to $1.9 million in settlements paid to former city employees. The city is opposing a subpoena that Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand has issued for records related to settlements with the […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Davenport takes state auditor to court over subpoenaed tapes as he investigates taxpayer-funded settlements
The City of Davenport is taking the state auditor to court over an investigation into $1.9 million in settlements paid out to former city employees. The city is opposing a subpoena that Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand has issued for records related to conversations that Davenport city officials had with staff attorneys and contracted […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Senate Republicans vote to restrict powers of the State Auditor, the only Democrat in statewide elected office
This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand calls SF 478, passed by the Senate on Wednesday, “the greatest pro-corruption bill and the worst perversion of checks and balances in Iowa’s history.” It’s a bill […]
Posted inCommunity/News
UI Athletics will reimburse state the $2 million to settle football discrimination lawsuit
Three days after the State Appeals Board voted 2-1 to pay $2 million from the state’s general fund to help settle a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in the University of Iowa’s football program, UI President Barbara Wilson issued a statement saying the university will reimburse the state. “After listening to the concerns of Iowans, and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
UI racial discrimination lawsuit settled for $4.2 million; Auditor Sand demands Gary Barta be held accountable
The University of Iowa and the Iowa Board of Regents have agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by eight Black former Hawkeye football players. Because Iowa law requires lawsuit settlements against state agencies be paid from the state’s general fund, Iowa taxpayers will be providing $2 million to settle […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New phone scam involves caller claiming to work for Iowa Auditor of State’s Office
Phone scams continue to proliferate, and on Monday the Iowa Auditor of State’s Office (AOS) reported a new one. “A concerned citizen notified the AOS Office on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, that they had received a phone call from a person inquiring about their mortgage,” the office said in a news release. “The caller also […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Gov. Reynolds fails to get Open Records Act lawsuit dismissed; complains about State Auditor doing audits
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ attempt to get a lawsuit over her administration’s failure to comply with Iowa’s Open Records Act dismissed failed on Friday. Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin rejected the argument by the governor’s attorney that the case is now moot because the state had finally turned over all the records covered by […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Auditor concludes Gov. Reynolds has failed to justify almost $450,000 in pandemic relief spent on staff pay
Just hours before Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted about her handling of the pandemic (“we honored your freedoms”) in the Republican response to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand published a report that reiterated his finding from last October that the governor had misappropriated almost $450,000 in federal pandemic relief […]
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Rob Sand is running for a second term as state auditor, squashing speculation he’d seek higher office
Almost as soon as Rob Sand was elected Iowa State Auditor in 2018, political writers and the Iowa Republican Party began publicly speculating on what office he would run for in 2022. Would Sand, the only Democrat elected to statewide office that year who wasn’t already a longtime incumbent (Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald has been in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Audit: Gov. Reynolds misused almost $450,000 of COVID aid to pay her office staff
Gov. Kim Reynolds misappropriated almost $450,000 in federal pandemic relief funds to cover the salaries and benefits of 21 employees in her office, according to a report published by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office on Monday. This is not the first time Auditor Rob Sand has issued a report alleging Reynolds misused CARES dollars meant […]
