The $10,000 price tag for a records request is not a good look, either. It suggests a high-priced obstacle to media’s attempts to learn how state government is operating — again, especially in a public health department during a global pandemic.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch asked for all written communications between state epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati and the federal CDC, top state public health administrators, and the governor’s office during April and May. The public health department estimated fulfilling the request would require 152 hours of labor at a rate of $65.09 per hour, for a total of $9,893.68, the Dispatch reported.

McCoy said the department, like others, uses a mathematical formula to determine the cost of records requests and will work with media outlets to reduce costs by narrowing requests. She said the costs are driven by the amount of work it takes to find the content, have an attorney examine it for any confidential information, to redact any confidential information, and then provide the information to the media outlet.

McCoy said the records requests can require “a tremendous amount of work” and that they sometimes do not serve a purpose for the state’s business.

One could argue, however, that being transparent to the public should be a primary purpose for the state’s business.