Friday Morning Read: Casino pitches made, Ambulance service center upgrade, Medal of Honor donated

Casino Pitches - Key institutions in Cedar Rapids, including city leadership, lobbied on behalf of investors pitching two options for a downtown casino during a presentation Thursday to state gambling regulators.

City Manager Jeff Pomeranz spoke in favor of two options proposed by a venture between Peninsula Pacific Partnership and Cedar Rapids Development Group, calling them a 'wonderful fit for the city.' Read about all that happened during the pitch here.

Casino Opinion Column - So we were served our annual cocktail of Iowa gambling revenue numbers this week, for the fiscal year just ended.

But is our $1.45 billion glass half-full or half-empty?

The half-empty crowd no doubt will point to the largely flat, 1 percent growth in overall adjusted gross revenues. Only seven of the state's 19 casinos made more money this year than last year. Read the rest of Todd Dorman's column here.

Ambulance Service Upgrade - Multiple Johnson County departments have new space in a multimillion-dollar, eco-friendly Ambulance Service and Medical Examiner Building.

Officials debuted the building to the public at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. The $7.69 million facility, funded by cash reserves and property taxes, is set to house both the ambulance and medical examiner's departments as well as some county facilities staff and vehicles and Auditor's Office election equipment. Read more about the new facility here.

Plea Likely to be Entered - An Iowa City man facing 18 counts of sexual abuse and 22 counts of invasion of privacy is scheduled to enter a plea on Monday.

The details of Nathan Schloss's plea have not been disclosed.

Schloss, now 26, was arrested in December 2014 and was accused of sexually abusing a woman multiple times between May 2012 and September 2013. Authorities said the victim was intoxicated and had no idea she had been abused. Read more about Schloss's case here.

Quotable - 'I am not here because I am a great soldier. I am here because I served with great soldiers'

These were the words that Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta gave before he presented his medal last week to the 173rd Airborne Brigade at the dedication ceremony for the Medal of Honor Walkway at the brigade's headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. Giunta told the stunned crowd that he wanted the medal to be with the members of the 173rd, to honor those 'that earn this every single day through their selflessness and sacrifice.'

Read the full story of Giunta here.