An audit by Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick reveals that former Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s office spent roughly $375,000 for numerous state aircraft trips during the final months of his administration.
What We Know: A closeout audit of the governor’s office that was released on Thursday gave the office a “fair” rating, which is the second-lowest on the auditor’s four point scale.
Where Parson Comes In: The audit faulted the Parson Administration for improper payments to top staff and stated the former governor’s state flights often lacked a public purpose.
The Specific Findings: The audit showed Parson’s office spent $375,000 for 174 flights, mainly during the final 18 months of his term. For every one of the flights, records listed only a generic purpose was listed: “Flight for Governor Parson.” Because Parson’s office never archived his official calendar and his press releases were removed from the state website when his term ended, auditors had to reconstruct his itinerary using the Wayback Machine, which is an internet archive.
How Many Flights Are in Question?: The audit showed a state business purpose could not be identified for 58 of the 174 flights. The probe also flagged 16 flights Parson took around the state in 2024 for trips that included signing events for his commemorative biography “No Turnin’ Back.” On most of those trips, the former governor also conducted other business, but one flight to Marceline had no purpose other than kicking off the book tour. That flight cost taxpayers $1,386.
How the Former Governor is Reacting: In a written response included in the report, Parson strongly disagreed with what he called “so-called findings,” and stated not of the issues that were cited “constitute unethical conduct.”