Grants give Cedar Rapids, Linn County a '$50 million dollar day'

Both federal and state dollars became official for several projects in Cedar Rapids and Linn County today.  In fact, Iowa Governor Chet Culver called it a “$50 million dollar day” for Cedar Rapids.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke brought the biggest check to the table on Monday- confirming a report late last week that $38 million in federal money was officially approved for two projects to help the community rebound economically from the 2008 flooding.  $35 million of that total will go to help the city construct a new events center  in connection with the existing U.S. Cellular Center.  Another $3 million in funding will help the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce build a Regional Commerce Center and Small Business Incubator.

In welcoming the confirmation, Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett said “this project will be a catalyst for more investment in the downtown and that investment will create hundreds of jobs and increased tax base.”

Iowa Governor Chet Culver delivered the state portion of dollars earlier by signing legislation to finance a “round two” of the state's I-JOBS program.  The signing took place at the flood-damaged Linn County Administrative Office building.  Nearly $9 million in the legislation signed by the Governor on Monday will fund both repairs and expansion of the county's main office building.  The facility, in expanded form, will be known as the Jean Oxley Public Service Center.  Oxley was a longtime Linn County supervisor.

In signing the legislation, the governor noted that the bill contained about $11 million for local projects.  The state set aside a large portion of I-JOBS funding for disaster relief projects-and both Linn County and the city of Cedar Rapids have received a significant portion of those state dollars.

“$260 million of I-JOBS funding has been just for disaster recovery and Cedar Rapids has secured a big chunk of that and rightfully so,” Governor Culver said.  The Governor added that by his figures, I-JOBS funding for the city and the county is now at the $126 million mark.

-- Dave Franzman, KCRG-TV9