Iowa Code » Chapter 21 — OFFICIAL MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 21.1 (2026)

Intent — declaration of policy

✓ current as of July 2026
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This chapter seeks to assure, through a requirement of open meetings of governmental bodies, that the basis and rationale of governmental decisions, as well as those decisions themselves, are easily accessible to the people. Ambiguity in the construction or application of this chapter should be resolved in favor of openness. [C79, 81, §28A.1] C85, §21.1

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1969–2026 · leading case: Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa, 878 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 2016).
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Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa, 878 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 2016). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 21.1 . Our caselaw affirms this legislative intent.”
Mason v. Vision Iowa Bd., 700 N.W.2d 349 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 4× “” Iowa Code § 21.1 . To this end, “[ajmbiguity in the construction or application of .”
City of Postville, Iowa & Jason Meyer v. Upper Explorerland Reg'l Plan. Comm'n, Martin Brennan, Kathy Campbell, Ray Whalen, Leon Griebenow, Andrew Wenthe, Karla Organist, Warren Steffen, Michael Kenedy, Janet McGovern, Dean Darling, Les Askelson, & Randy Uhl, 834 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “(quoting Iowa Code § 21.1 ); Dobrovolny v. Reinhardt, 173 N.”
James Hunter v. Page Cnty., Iowa, 102 F.4th 853 (8th Cir. 2024). “Iowa Code § 21.1 . The Act imposes on state and local government bodies, including county boards, a duty to conduct their official business in open session, or “meeting[s] to which all members of the public have access.”
Berge v. Harris, 170 N.W.2d 621 (Iowa 1969). · cites it 4× “These authors at section 21.1, page 1165 state: "Not reasonableness of the risk but the voluntary character of the association is the gist of the defense.”
Fuller v. Buhrow, 292 N.W.2d 672 (Iowa 1980). · cites it 2× “Schwartz, Comparative Negligence §§ 21.1, .2 (1974); Fleming, The Supreme Court of California 1974-75—Foreword: Comparative Negligence at Last—By Judicial Choice, 64 Calif.”
Master Builders of Iowa, Inc. v. Polk Cnty., 653 N.W.2d 382 (Iowa 2002). · cites it 2× “See Iowa Code §§ 21.1 -.11. We will not assume that the Board has integrated a clause in the PLA that would allow such a blatant action.”
Schumacher v. Lisbon Sch. Bd., 582 N.W.2d 183 (Iowa 1998). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 21.1 (emphasis added). The school board essentially concluded that the rights of an employee who requests a closed meeting are superior to the rights of a student who requests that it be open.”
KCOB/KLVN, Inc. v. Jasper Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 473 N.W.2d 171 (Iowa 1991). · cites it 2× “” Iowa Code § 21.1 . 2 We stated that the purpose of open meetings statutes is to require meetings of governmental bodies to be open and permit the public to be present.”
Russell Hotchkiss v. Cedar Rapids Cmty. Sch. Dist., 115 F.4th 889 (8th Cir. 2024). “§ 1983 and a claim under the Iowa Open Meetings Act, Iowa Code § 21.1 . On June 8, Hotchkiss moved for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the no- trespass order pending completion of the lawsuit.”
Feller v. Scott Cnty. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 435 N.W.2d 387 (Iowa Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 2× “Section 21.1 declares the express legislative intent that the basis and rationale of governmental decisions, as well as those decisions themselves, are to be easily accessible to the people.”
James W. Olinger & Larry C. Meyer v. Robert Smith, Walter Utman & Gaylord Pitt, Harrison Cnty., Iowa & Utman Drainage Dist., 889 N.W.2d 476 (Iowa Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “3 Further evidence of our legislature’s intent that we should interpret IOMA “in favor of openness” is found in Iowa Code section 21.1: “Ambiguity in the construction or application of this chapter should be resolved in favor of openness.”
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