She did it well.
That is, until she was fired for it.
Polly Carver-Kimm was the records custodian and spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Then, in July 2020, according to allegations in her wrongful termination lawsuit, she was forced to resign for attempting to comply with Iowa’s open records law while fulfilling media requests about state health information.
“Payment of $600,000 of the taxpayers’ money is a clear signal that state officials know they had botched their treatment of Polly Carver-Kimm.”
“At the direction and behest of Governor Kim Reynolds and the Governor’s Communications Director, Pat Garrett, IDPH sought to slow, stifle and otherwise divert the free flow of information to the media [and public]” concerning the state’s response to a medical emergency, according to Carver-Kimm’s suit.
Between March and July 2020, she said, IDPH officials restricted her job duties, and days after she provided annual abortion statistics to a reporter showing abortions were increasing in Iowa at the time, she was told to resign or be terminated.
She chose to resign after faithfully serving Iowa and carrying out its Open Records Law for 13 years.
Later that year, she filed a claim in Polk County District Court against the state of Iowa and the director and deputy director of IDPH, alleging that she had been dismissed for attempting to do her job.
With a week to go before the suit went to trial, on September 29, 2025, the state elected to settle with Ms. Carver-Kimm for $600,000.
And this month, the Iowa State Appeal Board, which signs off on all legal payments made by state offices and agencies, approved the settlement—to be paid by the state of Iowa, not the officials named in the suit.
State Auditor Rob Sand was the sole member of the Appeal Board to vote against the settlement, saying in a statement that he is “disgusted that taxpayers should be forced to foot the bill.”
Iowa Freedom of Information Council President and Chief Executive Randy Evans said he is “troubled” by the case, as both a taxpayer and an advocate for open and accountable government.
“Payment of $600,000 of the taxpayers’ money is a clear signal that state officials know they had botched their treatment of Polly Carver-Kimm,” Evans said. “But the case’s underlying allegations should bother all Iowans—that Carver-Kimm was forced out of her job because she complied with the requirements of the public records law … and the taxpayers are paying the price.”
