KDSN RADIO News
State pays $600,000 to settle lawsuit filed by ex-public health spokesperson
The State of Iowa is paying $600,000 to settle the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by the former spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Health.
Polly Carver-Kimm’s lawsuit claimed that during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials started to restrict her ability to follow Iowa’s Open Records Law and fulfill records requests from news outlets, then someone else in the agency was put in charge of releasing public records. Carver-Kimm said she was ultimately told in July of 2020 that she could resign or be terminated due to restructuring in the agency. She has said the state had no legitimate reason to fire her.
Carver-Kimm’s attorney said his client fulfilled her responsibility “to make sure the public’s business remained public,” but at great personal cost. State officials aren’t admitting wrongdoing through the settlement. Carver-Kimm is married to Radio Iowa Sports Director Todd Kimm. She was a long-time reporter and radio talk show host before she was hired by the state health department in 2007.
The three-member State Appeal Board approved the settlement on a two-to-one vote. State Auditor Rob Sand voted no. Sand, a Democrat who is running for governor, said the law allows state officials to be held personally liable, and taxpayers shouldn’t be writing the check for this settlement.
