Lobbyists, staff aided Lt. Gov. Owen's nonprofit
For years, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen made the nonprofit Strategies for Youth an extension of his official government duties, even as it paid his wife a salary.
Owen's office staff used taxpayer-funded time to help conduct the operations of the anti-bullying organization that he founded, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press under state public records laws. The Democrat also worked with lobbyists to help raise money for the nonprofit.
It was an unusual nexus of work, personal and extracurricular life, especially since the nonprofit paid Owen's wife $25,000 during the span of a few years. The organization also provided his family with benefits such as full-time use of a $33,000 truck.