Gov. Kim Reynolds says she only flew for ‘official use’ in State Patrol plane

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she believes her use of an Iowa State Patrol airplane purchased using COVID-19 relief funds to travel for official events was appropriate, she said during a news conference Thursday.

The Des Moines Register reported that State Patrol pilots flew a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan to Sioux City and Waterloo before the governor appeared at events in these cities, and a spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed Reynolds has been using a state-owned plane for travel. The plane was purchased in December 2024 using funds provided to the state through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, the federal COVID-19 relief package.

The trips identified by the Register report include travel Jan. 29 to Sioux City, where the governor visited homes built by local career academy students. Reynolds also endorsed U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson in her campaign for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat at an event that night before the plane flew back later the same day.

Speaking to reporters at a media availability Thursday, Reynolds said the Grand Caravan was “not my plane,” but an Iowa State Patrol plane that was overwhelmingly used by state law enforcement officers. She also said her travel does not use a specific plane.

“When you look at the 2025 hours flown, I was less than 3% of that,” Reynolds said. “So I’m not using it every other day. We’re using it sparingly. But when I’m trying to get out in the state, and when I’m trying to, you know, be respectful of the people that are trying to meet with me — to get all of that done, I have to use the resources that are available. And if available, whether it’s a four seater or the larger one, doesn’t make any difference, whatever’s available. We can use it.”

Reynolds’ use of state-owned planes is a different approach from former Gov. Terry Branstad, under whom Reynolds served as lieutenant governor. In a 2016 interview with the Des Moines Register, he said he believed maintaining airplanes for the transport of public officials was not an effective use of taxpayer dollars.

Reynolds reiterated that the plane purchased using ARPA funds was for the State Patrol, not the executive branch, and she does not have a dedicated pilot or maintenance crew. She also said her flights in state-owned planes are only for official uses, and that it allows her to hold more events and reach more constituents than she would be able to if she drove to each event.

Reynolds said political supporters, donors or members of the business community have not flown with her on state-owned aircraft.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Reynolds said. “I don’t ever use it for personal use. It’s always for official use. Several governors have their own plane, we don’t.”

Reynolds said the plane was purchased at the suggestion of Department of Public Safety. When the state received federal COVID relief funds, she said she asked agencies how they would like to see the one-time funds used for infrastructure or other “meaningful” investments. When Reynolds asked Iowa DPS Commissioner Stephan Bayens about the funding, she said he believed there was an “opportunity” to improve the department’s air fleet.

“They identified a need with an aging fleet for potentially a larger aircraft,” Reynolds said. “When you look at just, drug interdictions, and you look at the ability of giving law enforcement every tool that’s available to be able to do their job — they can take more people with them, they can actually take the dogs with them. I  mean, there are a lot of different things that they could use this for, and that would give them just a broader stand of use for law enforcement. So (I) agreed. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Iowa DPS bought the plane from Integrated Surveillance and Defense, an Oregon-based company, and paid the company a total of $4.6 million in two payments.

Democrats criticized Reynolds, saying the governor used the plane for nonofficial purposes.

“It is outrageous that she is using that airplane for political purposes,” House Minority Leader Brian Meyer told reporters Thursday.

He said House Democrats plan to offer House Republican lawmakers the opportunity “to do the right thing, to get rid of the airplane.”

The issue came up in the Iowa House through an amendment on House File 2102, a measure banning drivers license tests from being administered in tests other than English. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, would have required the state to sell any planes used for executive transport purchased using ARPA funds. These proceeds from the plane’s sale would go to the state’s general fund.

Zabner criticized Reynolds for the use of the plane in travels to Sioux City for Hinson’s event, as well other previously reported misuses of federal pandemic relief funds.

“At a time when Iowans are struggling to make ends meet, when Iowans are telling us that prices are rising, that they’re struggling to pay their bills, the governor used money intended to help everyday Iowans for her own purposes to purchase this plane,” Zabner said. “Even worse, she did not ask for the consent of anyone in this body. She did not publicize it. Had the Des Moines Register not sent a reporter to the Ankeny airport, we might have never known about it. This is just plain wrong, and it’s an example of the spending that Iowans are sick and tired of.”

The measure was ruled not germane to the bill, and a vote to suspend the rules for considering the proposal failed 25-61.