Walz administration fumbled records request

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Vice President Kamala Harris officially tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6. By midafternoon Aug. 7, an audio recording had surfaced of former President Donald Trump praising Walz’s handling of the unrest following George Floyd’s death.

The lightning speed with which ABC News obtained the audio matters. A Democratic victory will put Walz a heartbeat from the presidency. With his 24 years of National Guard service, he may well be one of Harris’ most trusted advisers on military and security issues. His management of the fiery events that rocked Minneapolis during the tumultuous spring of 2020 offers critical insights about how he’d handle these challenges in his new role.

The recording of a phone call Trump had with a group of governors in June 2020 is encouraging. In it, Trump praises Walz, calling him an “excellent guy,” and noted how Minnesota’s response “dominated” protesters.

But the audio is just one small part of the information compiled about this Minnesota crisis. In addition to the Trump phone call, there are also interviews done in Minnesota with Walz and other key officials (or transcripts of these conversations) gathered as part of a state-commissioned review of Minnesota’s response to protests after Floyd’s murder. Voters here and across the nation deserve access to that information as they weigh their choices in the dwindling weeks before Election Day.

The state-commissioned review culminated in a report released in early 2022. While that analysis is publicly available, so far the raw information on which its conclusions are based is not. Details in the information may shed valuable additional light on decisions made as the protests escalated. That the information remains essentially under wraps is unacceptable and requires urgent remedy by the Walz administration and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Taxpayer dollars fund DPS, which hired the nonprofit Wilder Foundation in February 2021 to compile the report. The documents and interviews conducted during that process should be public and therefore accessible through Minnesota’s open records laws.

To its credit, a small government watchdog group has spent two years energetically pursuing audio, video and other documents gathered for the analysis. Public Record Media (PRM) based in St. Paul, operates on shoestring budget of about $14,000 a year and was founded by Matt Ehling, a television producer and writer. Board members also include two retired Star Tribune journalists.

PRM first requested documents and other data gathered for the report in August 2022. It should have taken weeks, maybe a month or two, to fulfill. Instead, PRM received no response from officials for almost two years “despite repeated letters to the DPS regarding its 2022 data request,” according to a statement from the group.

On Aug. 29 of this year, PRM filed a lawsuit to obtain the records and compel compliance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. While Ehling understands that gathering documents can take time, “our contention is that two years is not reasonable,” he said in an interview.

He’s right. The delay is inexcusable. It raises fair questions about Walz’s commitment to transparency. After an editorial writer recently followed up and asked DPS and Walz’s office about the delay, DPS provided this unsatisfying statement:

DPS is “committed to upholding the principles of open government. We strive to respond as promptly and thoroughly as possible to all data requests. We acknowledge the public’s interest in the data related to the state’s response to the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd,” spokesman Howie Padilla said.

“DPS is actively working to review and process the data involved in this request. While we recognize that this process has taken longer than anticipated, it is critical to ensure that the information provided is accurate, complete and complies with all applicable laws. Due to the ongoing litigation, we will not be commenting further.”

A spokeswoman for the governor’s office said this week that Walz is “supportive of DPS releasing the information.”

Terrific. But if that’s the case, why the two-year holdup?

PRM deserves praise for its efforts. Worth noting: The watchdog group has also requested records from the U.S. Department of Defense via federal open records laws for documents involving the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol. Three years have passed, and that request hasn’t been fulfilled either.

Transparency is foundational to democracy. The need for PRM to file a lawsuit should spur both state and federal lawmakers to strengthen open records laws. Citizens wielding this important tool to hold government accountable shouldn’t face yearslong delays.

“No matter who’s running the government at any given time, the public needs to see what they’re up to,” Ehling said.