ICOG News - Indiana Coalition for Open Government

IndyStar: Media orgs threaten legal action over delays in Indiana’s public access office

Grace Randolph. 2026-08-05. Indianapolis Star. You can read the letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press here. Update: Gov. Mike Braun released the following statement after the initial publication of the story: "Gov. Braun has long been an advocate for transparency. That is...

IndyStar: Under Braun’s watchdog, government secrecy grows harder to challenge

Cate Charron & Grace Randolph. 2026-07-24. Indianapolis Star Indiana’s public access counselor is supposed to ensure transparency in government. But under Gov. Mike Braun’s appointee, Jennifer Ruby, it has become far more difficult for Hoosiers to challenge government secrecy, an IndyStar...

Indiana Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby, Publishes First Two Opinions

You can read the first two (and more in the future) 2025 Advisory Opinions from Indiana's new Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby: 25-FC-00B: Alleged Violation of the Access to Public Records Act by the New Carlisle Town Council 25-FC-003: Alleged Violation of the Open Door Law by the Green...

Who you gonna call? 260-ASK-ICOG!

We are excited to launch our public access (ODL, APRA, and civics phone help line), 260-ASK-ICOG. Staffed by ICOG volunteers, we'll do our best to assist you with your questions related to open government in the Hoosier state. Currently being explored as a pilot project, we will re-evaluate the...

The Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana public access office goes quiet amid turnover

Leslie Bonilla Muñiz. 2025-05-30. Indiana Capital Chronicle. Tippecanoe County resident Pamela Frazee just wants to know if her messages went through. Phone calls to Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor (PAC) route directly to a voicemail box and aren’t returned. Emails — including...

News from Indiana

IndyStar: DCS won’t continue utilizing lab involved in drug test debacle

Jan 4, 2021

Hays, Holly V. 2021. DCS won't continue utilizing lab involved in drug test debacle. Indianapolis Star, Jan 01, 2021. (accessed January 4, 2021). Redwood Toxicology, the lab company at the center of an investigation into falsified drug test results affecting dozens of...

South Bend Tribune: Virus triggers more nursing home pain: Poor staffing, missed reforms among ways state failed residents

Dec 29, 2020

Evans, Tim, Emily Hopkins, and Tony Cook. 2020. Virus triggers more nursing home pain: Poor staffing, missed reforms among ways state failed residents. Palladium - Item, Dec 27, 2020. (accessed December 29, 2020). For more than nine months, Indiana officials reassured...

IndyStar: CARES funds’ usage debated: Some wonder if city’s attempt to boost tourism during pandemic was sensible

Dec 29, 2020

Pak-Harvey, Amelia. 2020. CARES funds' usage debated: Some wonder if city's attempt to boost tourism during pandemic was sensible. Indianapolis Star, Dec 26, 2020. (accessed December 29, 2020). Drinks and dinner at a trendy steakhouse. Live outdoor music. A night out...

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Indiana Trial Court Remote Video Hearings Pilot

Jan 28, 2022

You can now stream trial courts, live, across Indiana thanks to a recent Indiana Supreme Court order. You can check out what courts are currently streaming here: https://public.courts.in.gov/INCS#/ Trial courts around the state are conducting remote video hearings,...

Subscribe to ICOG’s substack newsletter, Open Doors

Nov 28, 2021

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government has started a substack newsletter, Open Doors. We release an issue about once a month and it covers news, data, and tips for making public records requests. Want to read? You can subscribe below. Want to write? Get in touch....

Post-Tribune: State officials have to come up with plan to meet OSHA vaccine standard for local government employees, which has left local sheriff’s departments with different interpretations

Nov 8, 2021

Kukulka, Alexandra. 2021. State officials have to come up with plan to meet OSHA vaccine standard for local government employees, which has left local sheriff's departments with different interpretations. TCA Regional News, Nov 08, 2021. (accessed November 28, 2021)....