{"id":51932,"date":"2017-06-07T18:00:35","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T01:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=51932"},"modified":"2017-06-07T16:12:23","modified_gmt":"2017-06-07T23:12:23","slug":"iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending"},"content":{"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.<\/p>\n

\"Iowa\u2019s
Iowa\u2019s first female governor Kim Reynolds says she did not discuss pending casino license applications with Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke when she accepted the use of his private plane late last month. (Image: Cliff Jette\/The Gazette)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That came straight from the horses mouth, as Governor Reynolds this week defended her decision to commandeer the plane in question, which belonged to chairman of Wild Rose Entertainment Gary Kirke, for a meet and greet session, just two days into the job.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an in-kind contribution, and it was in accordance to law,\u201d Iowa\u2019s first female governor said at her weekly press conference on Monday. \u201cIt will be fully disclosed at the end of the (campaign donation) reporting period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raised Eyebrows<\/b><\/h2>\n

After succeeding former governor Terry Branstad, who becomes US Ambassador to China<\/a>, Reynolds embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the state with acting Lt Governor Adam Gregg late last month.<\/p>\n

This 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>\n

Both 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":"\nIowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-08T01:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-06-07T23:12:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"652\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"435\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/\",\"name\":\"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-08T01:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-06-07T23:12:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg\",\"width\":652,\"height\":435,\"caption\":\"Iowa\u2019s first female governor Kim Reynolds says she did not discuss pending casino license applications with Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke when she accepted the use of his private plane late last month. (Image: Cliff Jette\/The Gazette)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Politics\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/politics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending","description":"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending","og_description":"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2017-06-08T01:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-06-07T23:12:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":652,"height":435,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/","name":"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-08T01:00:35+00:00","dateModified":"2017-06-07T23:12:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Iowa governor claims there was no conflict if interest in the use of Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke\u2019s private plane","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/AR-161219859.jpg","width":652,"height":435,"caption":"Iowa\u2019s first female governor Kim Reynolds says she did not discuss pending casino license applications with Wild Rose Entertainment\u2019s Gary Kirke when she accepted the use of his private plane late last month. (Image: Cliff Jette\/The Gazette)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/iowa-governor-defends-borrowing-private-plane\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Politics","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/politics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Iowa Governor Defends Borrowing Private Plane from Operator With Casino License Pending"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51932"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}