China<\/a>, Reynolds embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the state with acting Lt Governor Adam Gregg late last month.<\/p>\nThis was Reynold\u2019s “Building a Better Iowa” campaign, which took her to\u00a0Mason City, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.<\/p>\n
But eyebrows were raised in certain quarters of the press when it emerged she had sought out and accepted the use of Kirke\u2019s plane, despite the fact he is currently lobbying the state for permission to build a $40 million casino in downtown Cedar Rapids, the state\u2019s second largest city. The bid is in direct competition with another operator, the Cedar Rapids Development Group.<\/p>\n
Wild Rose is also considering applying for two more licenses in the city of Boone.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo Conflict of Interest\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n
Reynolds\u2019 insisted that the license application was \u201cnot discussed,\u201d adding that the Racing and Gaming Commission, which oversees gambling in the state, is an independent agency with no oversight from the governor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
It should be noted that while the governor appoints members of the commission, as a newcomer to the job, she has not had the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not and will not weigh in on any of the casino licenses. We have never done that in the past and will not do that going forward,\u201d she said, adding that the use of the plane had been cleared by the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it\u2019s being viewed as a political misstep, at best, and her opponents have turned it into a stick to beat her with.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n“The fact that Governor Reynolds jetted around the state on a big donor’s plane while he has a pending business contract with her administration \u2026 shows that she has the wrong priorities for our state,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Derek Eadon concluded.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nBoth developers are scheduled to make presentations to the Racing and Gaming Commission on July 13.<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iowa\u2019s brand-new Republican Governor Kim Reynolds\u2019 use of a private plane owned by a casino operator was not untoward, nor was it in any way connected to the operator\u2019s pending license casino application. That came straight from the horses mouth, as Governor Reynolds this week defended her decision to commandeer the plane in question, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":51934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,21,13,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n