Both Richards and Kirke are on a committee that will hold a private fundraiser for Reynolds on June 13. Richards was elevated last month to be president of the Board of Regents, which governs Iowa’s three public universities. Reynolds will make at least two appointments next year to the five-member commission, which also regulates Kirke’s other casinos. Reynolds said the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which will decide this year whether to grant a license, is independent from her office and she has never weighed in on the issue and doesn’t plan to. Kirke said the governor’s staff called to ask if she could use his plane for the tour and, “I was honored to be asked and happy to help.”
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The company is competing with another group for a state license to build a casino in Cedar Rapids. Kirke and his business partner, Michael Richards, are chairman and vice chairman of Wild Rose Entertainment, which owns casinos in Emmetsburg, Clinton and Jefferson. Kirke donated use of the 1998 Cessna Citation V Ultra and the services of two pilots as in-kind contributions to Reynolds’ newly established gubernatorial campaign. The setup appears legal under Iowa’s laws and rules regarding the use of campaign contributions for outreach to constituents. It included stops in Hawarden, Mason City, Cedar Rapids and Davenport. Adam Gregg used Kirke’s plane on May 26 to fly across Iowa as part of their new “Building a Better Iowa” tour. The Associated Press reported last week that Reynolds and acting Lt. “But it’s our intention to do like we normally do … to drive around the state and visit all 99 counties. “We’ll look at it on a case-by-case basis,” she said. She indicated she could seek such air travel, which she described as rare, in the future. The new Republican governor told reporters that asking Gary Kirke for use of his private airplane is allowable under Iowa ethics rules. Kim Reynolds on Monday defended her use of a jet owned by a wealthy businessman who is lobbying the state for approval to build a casino.