116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Government Notes: Racing and gaming commission meets in Cedar Rapids to hear comments on proposed casino
Also, Iowa City schools piloting use of three electric vehicles
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The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will meet Wednesday, Nov. 20 in Cedar Rapids to visit the site of a proposed new casino, and to hold a public hearing on the application for a license to open a Cedar Rapids casino.
The public can begin singing up to comment on the Cedar Rapids casino application at 8 a.m. at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. Sign-up for public comment will last until 10 a.m.
During sign-up — from 8:15 to 9 a.m. — the commission will visit the proposed site of a new casino, which is listed on the agenda as the area bounded by Fourth Street, F/G Avenues NW and the United Pacific Railroad in northwest Cedar Rapids. The site visit is open to the public, but limited seating is available.
Public comment will begin at 10 a.m. at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. Speakers will be assigned a speaker group and a number. During the meeting, speakers will be asked to line up by group and speaker number. Each speaker will have three minutes to share their comments. Specific organizations, businesses or licensees must designate one person to speak on the group’s or organization’s behalf. The commission may break for lunch or other breaks during public comment.
Following public comment, Cedar Rapids Development Group LLC will have an opportunity to comment, and then the commission will have time to ask questions of the Cedar Rapids Development Group LLC.
Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, a national gaming operator and developer with casinos in Dubuque, Sioux City and Northwood, and the Linn County Gaming Association jointly presented their gaming license application for the proposed Cedar Crossing & Entertainment Center at the commission’s meeting, held at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf last month.
The proposed $275 million development would be built on the former Cooper’s Mill site, on Cedar Rapids’ northwest side, and feature a casino with 700 slot machines and 22 table games, plus a group of restaurants, bars, 1,500-seat entertainment venue, an arts and cultural center and a STEM lab for families, among other attractions.
Marion seeking community impact nominees
The Marion Chamber of Commerce and the City of Marion have opened nominations for the Morris F. Neighbor Community Impact Award.
Nominations for the award will be accepted through Jan. 31, 2025 at 11:15 p.m.
The Community Impact Award was launched in 2021 in recognition of banker Morris F. Neighbor of Farmers State Bank. Through his leadership, the Neighbor family has given to countless capital campaigns, community events, and charitable nonprofit groups. In addition, volunteerism and dedication to the community have remained a priority with the family and among bank staff.
Nominees may be an individual, couple, or organization whose volunteerism, outstanding service, and dedication have impacted the Marion community. Ideal candidates have made a positive difference in the lives of fellow residents, continually volunteer in Marion, demonstrate a spirit of collaboration and are enthusiastic about the community and its people, and model honesty and integrity, exemplary character, and leadership either as an individual or through an organization.
The honoree will be announced by Mayor Nicolas AbouAssaly during the Marion State of the City event in spring 2025. Visit marioncc.org/community-impact-award to access the nomination form.
Iowa City schools piloting use of three electric vehicles
The Iowa City Community School District is piloting the use of three electric vehicles at City, Liberty and West High School to transport students in the Transition Alliance Program.
The Transition Alliance Program began last year in the district and is designed to assist students with disabilities in transitioning from high school to postsecondary education and employment by providing skills in job exploration, work-based learning, independent living skills and self-advocacy.
There are currently more than 180 students in the Iowa City district’s Transition Alliance Program.
Following the program’s first year, school leaders realized access to transportation was a barrier to many students in the program from accessing community learning opportunities, according to a news release from the district.
The electric vehicles are being used to transport students to job shadows, internships, work-based learning sites and career discovery opportunities.
“The addition of (electric vehicles) has greatly increased the (Transition Alliance Program’s) capacity to connect all eligible students to community learning opportunities,” said Brain Schafer, coordinator of the Transition Alliance Program.
In recent years, the Iowa City district has exceeded climate goals set for 2030 with a 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions since 2019.
In 2023, the Iowa City district was one of 40 to be awarded the Green Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education for its cost-saving, health promoting and performance-enhancing environmental practices.
“Access to these electric vehicles has been a game changer for our programming,” Schafer said.
Iowa City Municipal Airport completes solar array
The Iowa City Municipal Airport has completed an installation of 300 ground mounted solar panels that officials say will cut the airport’s energy costs by 50 percent.
The project, which cost more than $750,000, was funded through a Federal Aviation Administration grant and funds from the city’s Climate Action and Outreach division.
The solar panels were constructed by Solar by Brandt, part of Brandt Heating and Cooling.
Energy generated by the panels will be used to help power the runway, terminal and building lighting, Airport Manager Michael Tharp told The Gazette in February.
The installation is part of a two-phase project at the airport involving the switch to solar energy. The airport currently is in phase one with this initial funding, but phase two will see the installation of more solar panels. The second phase would involve panels powering the airport’s maintenance shop.
Johnson County updates fireworks ordinances
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors updated the county’s fireworks ordinance to set training and minimum distance requirements for commercial displays.
The county also changed the number of days required to apply for a permit before the display from 14 to 21 days.
The updated ordinance also offers specific periods for when consumer fireworks can be used without a permit.
- July 3 through July 5 between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.
- Dec. 31 between 7 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.; and
- Jan. 1 between 12 midnight and 12:30 a.m.
Cedar Rapids department, code enforcement manager receive awards
Staff in Cedar Rapids’ Building Services Department received multiple state and national awards for their work earlier this month.
City Code Enforcement Manager Greg Buelow was honored with the Excellence in Leadership Award by the American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE). The award honors those who made significant contributions in the field of code enforcement over the past year.
In the fall of 2023, Buelow led the city’s Code Enforcement Division to agency accreditation by the American Association of Code Enforcement, making Cedar Rapids the ninth city in the U.S. to earn that honor. The Cedar Rapids division also tied for the highest score achieved by any agency.
Through Buelow’s leadership, the division also received a national award for Marketing and Innovation by the American Association of Code Enforcement during the same period.
Buelow recently earned the Master Code Enforcement Professional Certification, a distinction held by just 35 code enforcement professionals nationwide. He also holds 40 International Code Council certifications (ICC).
Buelow also has introduced innovative training for code enforcement officers, including legal, personal safety, self-defense, mental health, and identification of illicit drug use training.
In addition to Buelow’s award, the Code Enforcement Division of Cedar Rapids’ Building Services Department was recognized as the Iowa Code Enforcement Department of the Year.
The city also earned the Creative Ideas in Code Enforcement Award for “a combination of new and creative ways of solving perplexing code enforcement issues.” Those include development of an online rental business training program; a community outreach campaign to encourage residents to be good neighbors and maintain their properties; a carbon monoxide alarm monitoring program; innovative training programs ranging from personal safety to pest control to legal aspects; and a door hanger warning program for illegally parked vehicles on private property.
Both departmental awards were presented by the Iowa Association of Code Enforcement (IowACE), a state organization of code compliance agencies.
Government Notes is published Mondays and contains updates from area governmental bodies. The Gazette’s Megan Woolard, Grace King and Sara Konrad Baranowski contributed.
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