A state audit released to The Des Moines Register raises serious questions about management of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Commission under its previous administrator.
The audit has not been released to the public, just to the newspaper. According to a story in The Des Moines Register, former Alcoholic Beverages division administrator Lynn Walding approved spending “tens of thousands of dollars” on questionable items, like “a camper (and) high-definition televisions.”
Governor Chet Culver did not appoint Lynn Walding to another four-year-term to head the agency this past April. No explanation was given by the governor or his staff as to why Walding was replaced.
Calls and email to State Auditor Dave Vaudt and his chief of staff, asking for access to the audit, have not been returned. According to the newspaper story, the audit found Walding approved a one-million dollar payment to a firm that was renovating the agency’s offices, “long before the work was done.”