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 […]
Rob Sand
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 […]
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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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds says no to vaccine incentives, yes to running for reelection; State Auditor says she misused pandemic aid again
“I am really happy with where we’re at,” Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters on Thursday, explaining that Iowa doesn’t need to follow the example of other states and create lotteries or other incentives to persuade people to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In April, the governor announced a goal of having 65 percent of eligible Iowans […]
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Gov. Reynolds boasts about returning $95 million in federal COVID-19 aid, rejecting migrant children during Fox News forum
Gov. Kim Reynolds boasted to an audience of Fox News fans in Orlando, Florida on Thursday night that she had rejected $95 million in pandemic relief funds from the CDC. The Iowa Department of Public Health informed the CDC of that decision on April 23, but the governor had not previously disclosed that she approved […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa is spending $10m in federal pandemic aid on state police salaries
After insisting for two months that spending $21 million in federal pandemic aid on a new computer system unrelated to COVID-19 was a legitimate use of that money, Gov. Kim Reynolds reversed her position on Monday and ordered those funds returned to the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. Iowa Auditor Rob Sand first informed the Reynolds […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds returns $21 million in misspent federal aid to state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund
On Monday afternoon, Gov. Kim Reynolds gave up trying to claim she could use $21 million in federal pandemic relief funds to pay for a computer system upgrade that wasn’t related to COVID-19. In a written statement, the governor’s office shared that “Governor Reynolds has directed the Iowa Department of Management to return $21 million […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Reynolds’ use of CARES Act funds to pay for software contract came after the Iowa House rejected her request for the money
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ decision to use $21 million of federal COVID-19 relief funds on a new computer system she awarded a no-bid contract last year came after the Iowa House of Representatives rejected her request to use $21 million in state gambling revenue to pay for the system, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported on Thursday. The […]
