Branstad opens new submission options for weekly 'Ask the Gov' project

Gov. Terry E. Branstad announced Tuesday that he will open his office for questions every Friday as part of his “Ask the Gov” video project that solicits questions from Iowans all across the state.

“I promised openness and accessibility from my administration, and ‘Ask the Gov' will be a fun, informative way for Iowans to have their questions answered,” Branstad said in a statement. “I will also bring in other agency and department heads on a regular basis to answer questions in this format. I hope Iowans across the state will take advantage of this opportunity and get their questions answered.”

Questions will be solicited via the following mediums: the governor's Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/TerryBranstad; the administration's Twitter account, http://Twitter.com/TerryBranstad; via e-mail at askthegov@iowa.gov; and via an online form found at: https://governor.iowa.gov/ask-the-gov/ Iowans are also encouraged to ask Gov. Branstad their questions via YouTube submissions.

Branstad administration officials are asking questions put forth on Twitter to use the hash tag #AskIAGov or Tweet them directly using @TerryBranstad.

For this week's edition, questions should be submitted no later than 8 a.m. Wednesday. Questions will be accepted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Two or three questions will be picked from the pool of submissions each week. Answers to these questions will be shared via the above mediums of communication every Friday, said Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht. The administration expects to share forthright, at times news-making answers with the people of Iowa.

Albrecht said the new method of communication is in addition to the governor's and lieutenant governor's weekly press conferences – which are streamed online at

http://Iowa.Governor.gov. They also are committed to visit all of Iowa's 99 counties, Albrecht said, and advance posting of their public schedules and their public events since taking office on Jan. 14.