~ ya gotta pay down the deficit to get THOSE public records ~

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has kept public crime reports out of the hands of citizen researchers by commingling them with the confidential investigative conclusions. But, under pressure from journalists, the Public Safety Department suggested that, for a donation to the state coffers, this public information might be reformatted and then generally available.

"The head of the Iowa Department of Public Safety
says his agency is prepared to consider whether it can make crime
records more readily available to the public if The Des Moines
Register makes a financial donation to his agency." Read the complete story

I'm all for private financing, considering the condition of state budgets and the intransigence of law enforcement agencies. It's not a matter of political influence or massaging the data. These reports already exist. We just want to get our hands on them. I say, "Donate Here!"