Iowa
Freedom of Information Council wins fight to intervene in Davenport case • Iowa Capital Dispatch
A judge has allowed the Iowa Freedom of Information Council to intervene in a case that pits the City of Davenport against a resident who is seeking access to municipal records.
The ruling marks a setback for the City of Davenport, with the judge basing his decision on arguments articulated by the city’s own lawyers. A hearing on the larger issue of whether the sought-after records should be disclosed to the public is scheduled for May 14.
The dispute has its origins in a September 2023 letter that Davenport’s then-city administrator, Corri Spiegel, sent to the city’s lawyers. In her letter, Spiegel demanded financial compensation for alleged workplace discrimination, harassment, bias, intimidation and retaliation.
The city ultimately agreed to pay Spiegel $1.6 million, but that agreement was not made public until after the city’s November 2023 elections – and the letter from Spiegel has yet to be made public.
After the settlement was made public, city resident David Ezra Sidran filed a formal Open Records Law request to gain access to Spiegel’s letter. The city then filed a civil action against Sidran, claiming his request for access had put the city in the “impossible position” of either turning over the document and facing litigation for disclosing a confidential record, or denying access and being sued for violating the Open Records Law.
Through the civil action, the city is seeking a determination from the court as to whether the document is public or confidential.
The Iowa Freedom of Information Council filed a motion to intervene in the case, arguing that it has a direct interest in access to public records, particularly in matters that affect the operation of government and the expenditure of taxpayer funds.
The city, however, resisted the council’s efforts to intervene, claiming the council had no direct interest in the case that would allow it to become a party to the proceedings. In response, the council said the city was simply attempting to have the court “bless its refusal to release the letter” and effectively immunize it from liability for keeping the document secret. The council also noted that its members, including the Quad-City Times, were also seeking access to the letter.
Lawyers for the city were dismissive of that argument, telling the court, “So, the argument goes, because its members have an interest in securing the release of the letter, presto, FOIC now has an interest and, FOIC magically becomes a ‘real party in interest in this ligation and has a clear and direct interest in the subject matter of this litigation and outcome.’ ”
“Correct,” District Court Judge Henry W. Latham II stated in his written order on Wednesday, replying directly to the city attorneys’ argument. “It is important to remember that the city’s requested relief does not apply only to Sidran. The city wants the court to determine whether the letter is confidential and whether the city has a right to release the letter. As the FOIC indicated, at least one of its members has already requested a copy of the Letter. The outcome of this case will affect the interests of the FOIC. Accordingly, the Iowa FOIC has a right to intervene.”
Latham also ruled on a motion to intervene in the case by Tiffany Thorndike and Samantha Torres, two former city employees who also collected settlements from the city around the time of Spiegel’s payout.
Thorndike and Torres had written similar letters to the city, and those letters were made public – although city officials later claimed they released them accidentally after determining it was going to keep them confidential.
Latham denied the motion by Thorndike and Torres, finding that whether the city had negligently released their letters was a separate issue from whether the city was legally obligated to turn over Spiegel’s letter.
The City of Davenport has also been fighting a subpoena from Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand for records related to the settlements.
That subpoena calls for the city to produce closed-session minutes and recordings of five city council or committee-of-the-whole meetings, as well as copies of all emails and memos discussing the settlements.
In March, Iowa Freedom of Information Council Executive Director Randy Evans spoke to a legislative committee about the city’s action.
“I can’t recall a more egregious example of blatant disregard for the requirements of the public-meetings law as that which has occurred in the City of Davenport starting last fall and continuing to the present,” Evans said. “It should trouble every taxpaying citizen of Iowa, and the members of this General Assembly, that the city council and top administrators in Davenport worked out (an arrangement) to pay nearly $2 million in taxpayer money to three high-ranking city employees prior to the city election last November and yet never thought to bring those settlement agreements before the city council for a public vote.”
Penn State landed Iowa State’s pair of quarterbacks earlier Sunday, including starter Rocco Becht, in a splash move. Now, the Cyclones’ leading receiver is coming with them.
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen committed to Penn State via the transfer portal, becoming the seventh Cyclone to join the Nittany Lions this weekend. He announced the move on social media.
Eskildsen recorded 30 receptions, 526 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. He also appeared in all 13 games as a freshman but made just two catches for 17 yards.
The 6-1, 200-pound wideout is from Frisco, Texas, and is a three-star in the 247Sports transfer rankings (No. 118 overall, No. 30 WR). He was a three-star out of high school as well, where he had more than 1,5000 career receiving yards.
Becht’s top man from 2026 is now in place. He’ll also be able to throw to standout Penn State freshman Koby Howard and quick youngster Tyseer Denmark, who have confirmed their returns thus far.
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Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.
Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.
Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.
“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”
Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.
Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.
The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.
Drew Anderson (Riverside)
The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.
Urijah Courter (West Marshall)
Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.
Cooper Hinz (Jesup)
Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.
Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)
Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.
Mason Koehler (Glenwood)
The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.
Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)
Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.
Keaton Moeller (Starmont)
Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.
Iowa High School Premium Rankings
Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.
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