Iowa Local Commissions
There are 21 local human rights commissions in the state of Iowa. These
city and county commissions, created by local ordinances, exist independently
of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Although there are no formal or legal
ties between the agencies, the local commissions interact with and work
cooperatively with the Commission on case processing and on advocacy and
public awareness of civil rights issues.
During the past several years many local commissions have been under attack and their existence threatened because of budget cuts in the various communities. Debate has also centered around whether the local commissions duplicated the work of the state commission, or whether they provided a valuable service by handling cases locally and reducing the work load of the over-burdened state commission.
During FY 90, the question of local commissions was debated in the legislature. The result was passage of House File 2154 by the Iowa General Assembly. This mandates that all cities in Iowa with a population of twenty-nine thousand, or greater, shall maintain an independent local civil rights agency or commission, and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has authority to enter into cooperative agreements with the local agencies. However, this legislation will be repealed as of July 1, 1991. In the meantime, a Legislative Study Committee is gathering information on how best the jurisdictions of the local commissions and the state commission can be structured in the future. It is anticipated that new legislation will be considered by the 1991 Iowa General Assembly. (See Statutory Changes, page 22.)
The following tables show the cases originating
with each agency, and the number of case
determinations by each agency.
| Agency | # | % |
| Des Moines Human Rights Commission | 217 | 31.0 |
| Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission | 132 | 18.9 |
| Davenport Civil Rights Commission | 80 | 11.5 |
| Sioux City Human Rights Commission | 49 | 7.0 |
| Dubuque Human Rights Commission | 43 | 6.2 |
| Waterloo Human Rights Commission | 40 | 5.7 |
| Council Bluffs Human Rights Commission | 39 | 5.6 |
| Fort Dodge Human Rights Commission | 31 | 4.4 |
| Iowa City Human Rights Commission | 29 | 4.1 |
| Mason City Human Rights Commission | 17 | 2.4 |
| Ames Human Rights Commission | 14 | 2.0 |
| Cedar Falls Human Rights Commission | 7 | 1.0 |
| Total | 698 |
| Agency | # | % |
| Iowa Civil Rights Commission | 962 | 70.9 |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Comm. | 104 | 7.7 |
| Cedar Rapids Human Rights Commission | 104 | 7.7 |
| Davenport Human Rights Commission | 63 | 4.6 |
| Des Moines Human Rights Commission | 31 | 2.3 |
| Iowa City Human Rights Commission | 22 | 1.6 |
| Waterloo Human Rights Commission | 20 | 1.5 |
| Sioux City Human Rights Commission | 19 | 1.4 |
| Fort Dodge Human Rights Commission | 10 | <1 |
| Dubuque Human Rights Commission | 5 | <1 |
| Cedar Falls Human Rights Commission | 5 | <1 |
| Ames Human Rights Commission | 4 | <1 |
| Housing & Urban Development (HUD) | 4 | <1 |
Iowa Local Commissions
Sheila Lundt, Director
Lisa Ievalts, Chairperson
Ames Human Relations Commission
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, IA 50010
515/239-5101
John Aitken, Chairperson
Bettendorf Human Relations Commission
706 Union Arcade Building
Davenport, IA 52801
319/322-7195
Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, Chairperson
Burlington Human Rights Commission
#8 Cascade Terrace
Burlington, IA 52601
319/754-4437
Cheryl O'Connor, Chairperson
Cedar Falls Human Rights Commission
220 Clay Street
Cedar Falls, IA 50613
319/277-1921 (H), 319/292-5482(O)
319/277-3504, Pat Robb, contact person
Floyd Jone, Executive Director
Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission
2nd Floor - Veterans Memorial Building
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
319/398-5036
Clinton Human Rights Commission
Contact Person: Errol Peters
507 Buell
Clinton, IA 52732
319/242-4441
Darrin Hamilton, Asst. City Atty.
Council Bluffs Human Relations Commission
209 Pearl Street, City Hall
Council Bluffs, IA 51501
712/328-4618
Brenda Drew-Peeples, Director
Davenport Civil Rights Commission
224 West 4th Street
Davenport, IA 52801
319/326-7723
James Claussen, Acting Director
Des Moines Human Rights Commission
Armory Building, E. 1st & Des Moines
Des Moines, IA 50307
515/283-4284
Matt Lorenz, Executive Director
Dubuque Human Rights Commission
City Hall, 13th & Central
Dubuque, IA 52001
319/589-4190
Kathy Goble, Director
Fort Dodge Human Rights Commission
819 lst Ave. South, Municipal Bldg.
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
515/576-2201
Pat Dollinger (Contact)
Fort Madison Human Rights Commission
811 Avenue E, City Hall
Fort Madison, IA 52627
319/372-7700 (City Hall)
Donald Schild, Secretary
Grinnell Human Rights Commission
833 Broad Street, P.O. Box 265
Grinnell, IA 50112
515/236-5022
Alice Harris, Human Rights Coordinator
Iowa City Human Rights Commission
410 E. Washington, Civic Center
Iowa City, IA 52240
319-356-5022
Sylvia Tillman
Keokuk Human Relations Commission
2106 Crestwood
Keokuk,IA 52632
319/524-9923, or 319/524-2050, City Hall
Ms. Lee Haupert, Chairperson
Marshalltown Human Rights Commission
1400 Lincoln Towers Circle
Marshalltown, IA 50158
515/752-0287
Lionel Foster, Director
Mason City Human Rights Commission
19 South Delaware, City Hall
Mason City, IA 50401
515/421-3619
Marilyn Munyon, Chairperson
Muscatine Human Rights Commission
City Hall, 215 Sycamore
Muscatine, IA 52761
319/264-1550
Ted Buttel, Chairperson
Ottumwa Human Rights Commission
City Hall, P.O. Box 518
Ottumwa, IA 52501
515/683-0600, City Hall
Helen Davis, contact person
John Stokes, Executive Director
Sioux City Human Rights Commission
Suite 355, Orpheum Bldg.
Sioux City, IA 51101
712/279-6985 OR 6986
B.J. Furgerson Director
Waterloo Human Rights Commission
715 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor
Waterloo, IA 50701
319/291-4441