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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: Hoosiers fear losing benefits, rights: A woman sued to save her Medicaid. HHC agency wants to bar such cases.

Nov 9, 2022

Magdaleno, Johnny, and Tony Cook. 2022. Hoosiers fear losing benefits, rights: A woman sued to save her medicaid. HHC agency wants to bar such cases. Indianapolis Star, Nov 04, 2022. (accessed January 9, 2023). Indiana and other states often try to cut or deny...

IndyStar sues 8 hospitals for records violations: Claim: Public spending on nursing homes obscured

Aug 11, 2022

Magdaleno, Johnny. 2022. IndyStar sues 8 hospitals for records violations: Claim: Public spending on nursing homes obscured. Indianapolis Star, Aug 10, 2022. (accessed August 11, 2022). Eight Indiana hospitals are violating state records laws by withholding...

Companies line up to bid on Grand Park: 18, some in central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus

May 1, 2022

Carloni, Brittany. 2022. Companies line up to bid on grand park: 18, some in Central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus. Indianapolis Star, Apr 27, 2022. (accessed May 1, 2022). Eighteen companies have informed Westfield they are interested in either...

News from ICOG

Please join us: ICOG, SPJ host Sunshine Week panel on open data

Mar 2, 2015

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government is pleased to join with the Indiana Professional Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists to host a symposium devoted to the issues surrounding open government data. The March 24 panel discussion draws from the ranks of...

ICOG joins death certificate lawsuit; Supreme Court hears arguments in May

Mar 17, 2014

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments in Evansville Courier & Press vs. Vanderburgh County Health Department, a lawsuit over public access to death certificates in Indiana. ICOG joined the effort to bring the case to the Supreme Court last year after a trial...

ICOG signs on to Indiana free speech case

Jul 3, 2013

Can you strongly disparage a judge without fear of being arrested for your words? The answer is yes under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But that didn't stop a Cincinnati blogger from being convicted of intimidation two years ago after strenuously...

All the News

State Releases Documents After Mackinac Center Files FOIA Lawsuit

Dec 8, 2020

Mackinac Center Wednesday, December 2, 2020 The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, in a settlement with the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, finally released documents related to complaints about businesses suspected of violating Gov. Gretchen...

Daily Advertiser: Barbara Leader named Daily Advertiser executive editor

Dec 7, 2020

Barbara Leader, the editor of the Monroe News Star, has been named the new executive editor of The Lafayette Daily Advertiser in Lafayette and the state editor for Gannett's Louisiana newspapers.[...]In 2012, while reporting for the News Star, Leader broke a statewide...

South Florida Sun Sentinel: A timeline of secrecy Florida’s COVID response

Dec 6, 2020

Cindy, Krischer Goodman, David Fleshler, and Mario Ariza South Florida,Sun Sentinel. 2020. A timeline of secrecy florida's COVID response. South Florida Sun - Sentinel, Dec 06, 2020. (accessed December 6, 2020). April: Deaths at long-term care sitesAs the death toll...