Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will have a $400,000 wrought-iron fence erected around the mansion she lives in due to security concerns, numerous sources reported Wednesday.
The funding will be pulled from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) budget for the fence around the Des Moines mansion, but the exact cost was not yet specified, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Governor’s mansion at Terrace Hill. (State of Iowa)
The types of materials and the dimensions of the fence were also kept confidential for security purposes, a DPS spokesperson said, according to the AP.
Officials said security concerns prompted the construction of the fence. Days before the announcement that the fence would be built, perimeter fencing was placed around the residence due to “repeated threats” against Reynolds and other elected officials, the Des Moines Register reported on April 23.
An Iowa State Patrol official has previously said there has been a surge in death threats against Reynolds in the last year. One case involved a man who was arrested in March after leaving Reynolds a voicemail calling her a “treasonous dictator” who needs to be “put in front a firing squad,” the Des Moines Register reported.
Iowa is also one of the few states without perimeter fencing at the governor’s residence, DPS said in a statement Friday.
“Repeated threats against our elected officials, to include Governor Reynolds, have been widespread and alarming, and Iowa is one of only a few states in the nation that do not have perimeter security fencing around the Governor’s residence,” the statement said.
The failed kidnapping plot targeting Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October “only reinforced” the state’s security concerns, according to the statement. Following the plot, a security perimeter fence was built around Whitmer’s residence. (RELATED: 6 Men Indicted For Allegedly Plotting To Kidnap Gov. Whitmer)
Reynolds said Wednesday that following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, numerous states used federal funding to secure governors’ residences and that “it’s probably the right thing to do.”
“Nothing will change,” Reynolds said, according to the AP. “It’s still the people’s house and we’ll continue to do tours and it will continue to be open, but I’m not going to second-guess their recommendation to have it done and obviously every other state but one or two have made the same decision,” Reynolds said.