Prosecutor Asks Iowa State University Police to Investigate N.C. Flight

AMES, Iowa ― A prosecutor has asked Iowa State University police to investigate a flight that took President Steven Leath to the North Carolina town where he owns a home.

Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds received a complaint Monday questioning a university plane’s travel to and from Jefferson, North Carolina on March 12 ― the beginning of Spring Break.

Reynolds forwarded the complaint for investigation to ISU interim police chief Aaron DeLashmutt, who reports to a Leath subordinate.

The plane stayed in Jefferson 37 minutes before returning to Ames. Three days later, the university’s larger plane was sent to pick Leath and his wife up there. A spokeswoman says Leath had meetings scheduled in North Carolina.

The complaint from Board of Regents critic David Wheeler questions whether it was an illegal personal trip.