The Accidental Open Records Advocate

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Walter Kuckes is a retiree on a mission. It began when he tried to pick up a public brochure on legal issues related to visitation rights at his courthouse in Avon, Minn. He discovered that getting public information isn’t always easy. That led him to visit all 87 county courthouses and begin a series of letter writing efforts that have made getting information a lot easier for his fellow citizens. The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists recently gave him its Freedom of Information Award. The Star Tribune’s reader representative, Kate Parry, celebrates his journeys for open access. (5/31/05)