Iowa’s Department of Administrative Services acted irrationally, illogically, and capriciously — and abused its discretion — when it exonerated itself of any wrongdoing in closing, without warning or public discussion, the State Historical Society’s Iowa City research center, according to a new lawsuit filed by a private, nonprofit organization formed 43 years ago to preserve Iowa’s history.
While fighting a proposal to strip Iowa of its mandate to maintain a State Historical Society research center in Iowa City, a group of historians, donors, and community members are celebrating a small victory with the Iowa Supreme Court.
A Senate subcommittee advanced a Department of Administrative Services bill Tuesday to remove Iowa Code’s requirement for a State Historical Society research center in Iowa City, as lawsuits and a competing bipartisan House proposal seek to ensure the historical center remain staffed and open.
Countering a bill the Iowa Department of Administrative Services prefiled in December to eliminate the mandate in Iowa Code that it maintain a historical resource center in Iowa City, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers Tuesday introduced a measure to ensure historical centers remain staffed and open in both Des Moines and Iowa City.
A deal the State of Iowa reached with the University of Iowa last month to maintain public access to historical society documents in Iowa City — as required by Iowa Code — is only in place for six months, if not fewer, helping the state to comply with Iowa law just long enough to change it.
The Iowa Department of Administrative Services has determined that it did not violate the portion of state code requiring it to “maintain research centers in Des Moines and Iowa City” when it closed the Iowa City Research Library on Dec. 31.
Amid pending litigation, displaced collections and a public fight to maintain the Iowa City arm of the State Historical Society, officials on Friday announced a new collaboration to maintain public access to the historical collections at the University of Iowa.
State agencies are pre-filing bills ahead of the 2026 Iowa legislative session, signaling debates over kratom regulation, prison safety, election ads and a renewed fight over the future of Iowa’s historical archives in Iowa City.
A special investigation by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office found Crossroads Behavioral Health Services mishandled or misused more than $180,000 in federal and opioid settlement funds. Meanwhile, a state partnership with Ancestry.com has digitized over 1 million Iowa historical records at no taxpayer cost.
A Johnson County district judge Friday ordered the state to stop removing historic material from the 168-year-old State Historical Society’s Iowa City research facility that it unexpectedly decided to close without warning or public discussion.
Historians, archivists, donors, and community members suing to prevent closure of the State Historical Society’s Iowa City research facility — and order the state to return materials already removed — now are seeking a “special master” to protect the “uniquely sensitive and irreplaceable” collections.
Despite a lawsuit fighting the State Historical Society of Iowa's unexpected and "haphazard" closure of its Iowa City research facility and archives — and a court hearing scheduled in the dispute next week — the state on Monday began moving some of the historical documents with help from prison inmates.
Seventeen historians, archivists, professors, authors, and donors with decades of public service are suing the State Historical Society of Iowa for haphazardly and without public input closing its Iowa City research facility and archives.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is joining a growing group of Iowans opposing the state’s decision to close the State Historical Society of Iowa building in Iowa City.
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