Hunter
02/16/21
The Board of Regents says the state Auditor’s office is overreaching. The Auditor’s office says the Board of Regents is acting in bad faith. The State Supreme Court will have the final say.
A dispute over the University of Iowa’s multimillion dollar utility deal will be argued this afternoon.
At issue is whether the State Auditor’s office has the authority to request information about the Iowa-based investors in the $1.65 billion dollar deal to have a private group operate the utilities at the University. The Board of Regents have denied auditor Rob Sand’s request since he initially asked for the information in December 2019. Calling it one of the largest financial transactions in Iowa history, he asked for details on the roughly 20 percent investment from Iowa-based concerns. When he was refused, he filed a subpoena for the records, which a District Court enforced in the middle of February last year. The University of Iowa appealed, a judge sided with the Auditor’s Office again, and the case was appealed to the State Supreme Court. They will hear arguments this afternoon.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that neither side would comment on the story, but Sand said that he “looks forward to being able to discuss it in great depth after a report is issued.”