Author

Clark Kauffman

Clark Kauffman

Clark is deputy editor of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Kauffman has extensive experience using the Freedom of Information Act, reading Form 990 financial reports for nonprofit organizations, and organizing multi-part series. He can be a source for health care coverage as well as stories on police and prosecutorial misconduct, and publicly funded nonprofits. During the past 30 years, Clark worked as both an investigative reporter and editorial writer at two of Iowa’s largest newspapers, the Des Moines Register and the Quad-City Times. He has won numerous state and national awards for reporting and editorial writing. His 2004 series on prosecutorial misconduct in Iowa was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. From October 2018 through November 2019, Kauffman was an assistant ombudsman for the Iowa Office of Ombudsman, an agency that investigates citizens’ complaints of wrongdoing within state and local government agencies.

Hunters convicted of conspiracy sue TV station’s owner for defamation

By: - September 18, 2023

A former Ankeny, Iowa, couple convicted of a federal crime related to trafficking in wildlife is suing the owner of a Des Moines television station for its reporting of the case. According to federal court records and the office of U.S. Attorney Steven Russell, Josh T. Bowmar, Sarah E. Bowmar and their company, Bowmar Bowhunting, […]

Privacy lawsuit against Iowa newspaper publisher will proceed, judge rules

By: - July 31, 2023

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging an Iowa newspaper publisher violated customers’ privacy rights through information sharing with Facebook. The Iowa-based newspaper chain Lee Enterprises is facing a potential class-action lawsuit alleging it has shared readers’ personal information, including the videos they watch on Lee websites, with Facebook in violation of […]

Injunction blocks enforcement of new abortion restrictions in Iowa

By: - July 17, 2023

An Iowa judge on Monday issued an injunction that prevents the state from enforcing a new law that seeks to ban almost all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The temporary injunction was issued three days after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law. With Monday’s ruling, abortion up to 20 weeks of pregnancy […]

Sharply divided court maintains ban on Iowa’s fetal-heartbeat law

By: - June 18, 2023

A sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court on Friday let stand an injunction blocking the enforcement of a law that attempted to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. With the court divided 3-3 on the question of whether the injunction should stand, a lower court’s decision to keep the ban in place was automatically affirmed. […]

U.S. Supreme Court rejects pork producers’ challenge of California law

By: - May 11, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an Iowa organization’s challenge to a law imposing restrictions on the sale of pork in California. The decision marks a significant defeat for Iowa pork producers who have long argued that California’s law, backed by animal-welfare advocates, would disrupt the agricultural industry by allowing states to dictate the […]

ER physician, accused of using drugs on duty, loses license in both Nebraska and Iowa

By: - November 30, 2022

The state of Iowa has suspended the license of an emergency room physician who appeared to be under the influence of narcotics while treating patients in an Iowa hospital and an Omaha clinic. The same doctor now stands accused of continuing to practice medicine in Nebraska while his license there is under suspension. The Iowa […]

Biden student debt forgiveness plan on temporary hold after appeals court ruling

By: and - October 21, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from carrying out its student loan forgiveness plan, until the court makes a determination on a request for an injunction brought by six Republican-led states, according to multiple media reports. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is giving the Biden administration […]

‘Predatory’ loans to buy pets have 189% interest rate, despite Iowa state laws

By: - October 20, 2022

An Iowa couple who unwittingly purchased a seriously ill dog through a loan with an interest rate of 189% now want lawmakers to protect consumers from a similar experience. Jeff and Jennifer Bowman, whose story was first reported by the Washington Post, purchased a 12-week-old English bulldog in a Petland store in Iowa City three […]

TikTok challenge sparks car thefts and class-action lawsuit against Kia, Hyundai

By: - August 8, 2022

Amidst a rapid proliferation of social-media posts offering people tips on how to easily steal a Kia or Hyundai automobile, two Iowans have filed a class-action lawsuit against the car makers. Ann Brady of Polk County and Leah Price of Decatur County are suing Kia America Inc., Hyundai Motor America and Hyundai Kia America Technical […]

Tyson asks U.S. Supreme Court to shield it from COVID-19 lawsuits in Iowa courts

By: - July 25, 2022

Faced with court rulings that say a Trump administration directive doesn’t protect Tyson Foods from liability caused by workers’ deaths due to COVID-19, the food giant is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter. Arguing that recent court rulings against the company will have “drastic consequences for the next national […]

Iowa worker’s wage lawsuit survives in U.S. Supreme Court

By: - May 24, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a small, but potentially significant, victory to a fast-food worker from Iowa. The court did not address the basic premise of Robyn Morgan’s lawsuit — that the Taco Bell restaurant she worked for had violated wage-and-hour laws. The court did, however, address a procedural issue that could have […]

U.S. Supreme Court will hear dispute over California’s pork-sale restrictions

By: - March 28, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear pork producers’ legal challenge of a California law that restricts the sale of pork in that state. The lawsuit, filed by the National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation, attempts to nullify California’s voter-approved ballot measure dealing with hog confinement. The measure, approved by […]