Will the state let Cedar Rapids have some fun?

Cedar Rapids just wants to have some fun. But the state of Iowa can be a real stick in the mud.

Take the city’s bid for a grant from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ $100 million Destination Iowa program, paid for with federal pandemic relief dollars. In May, Cedar Rapids submitted a request for $27 million to help pay for a wide array of recreational amenities along the Cedar River downtown.

In July, the city sliced its grant request down to $8.4 million. Since then it’s shrunk to $6 million. Meanwhile the Reynolds administration has handed out six rounds of Destination Iowa grants worth more than $73 million. The program is scheduled to end on Dec. 31, or when the money runs out.

Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz told our editorial board this past week the city remains confident it will receive a grant before the money runs out. A check in the city’s Christmas stocking, perhaps. I asked Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell if she’s been lobbying her friend the governor.

“I’ve lobbied Debi more than the governor,” said O’Donnell, referring to Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham.

“I only have so many chips, Todd,” O’Donnell said.

This set off an interesting good cop, bad cop exchange between Pomeranz and O’Donnell.

“We’re pushing our projects and we’re confident in our projects, but we have to acknowledge we’ve gotten a lot of support in a lot of different areas,” said Pomeranz, referring to the city’s other successes in landing state funding.

“I will tell you,” O’Donnell said. “I just keep hearing from Des Moines how Cedar Rapids, we’re just not, we have no representation in Des Moines. It’s rough,” said O’Donnell, referring to a lack of majority Republicans in the local legislative delegation.

“We’ve had a lot of successes,” Pomeranz interjected.

O’Donnell did knowingly run to be a Republican mayor in a blue Democratic city. During the mayoral campaign, she ran under the banner of the bipartisan “Party of Cedar Rapids,” but O’Donnell also argued her ties to the GOP would help the city in its dealings with a very red Statehouse.

“It’s nice to have a line there, but I don’t know, it’s rough. It’s rough,” O’Donnell said.

Statehouse Republicans don’t recognize the “Party of Cedar Rapids?” Yeah, probably not.

Pomeranz pointed to $30 million in state funding for housing help, funding to assist with derecho recovery and an expedited Wright Brothers Boulevard interchange project. The state also provided $9 million for the First and First West project, which includes a Big Grove Brewery. That does sound fun.

“I have to wonder,” O’Donnell said. “You look at Dyersville and Dubuque, they have (state Senate assistant majority leader) Carrie Koelker. You’ve got like advocates that are there, are at the table or in leadership positions. It can’t hurt.

“It’s fine,” O’Donnell said. “We just have to keep being awesome.”

Pomeranz is right, of course. The state hasn’t exactly cut Cedar Rapids off. State sales tax dollars are helping build flood protection along the Cedar River. During the Culver administration, the I-JOBS bonding program pumped tens of millions of dollars into flood recovery projects, including local amenities such as the Paramount Theatre.

But there has been some fun-killing. Three casino projects, including the whole enchilada Cedar Crossing Casino planned for the riverfront, were shot down by the state Racing and Gaming Commission. This year, despite lobbying by O’Donnell and others, Reynolds signed a hastily passed bill slapping a two-year moratorium on new gambling licenses, slamming the door, for now, on another local casino plan.

Luckily, the state doesn’t seem to care about brewery cannibalization.

Roughly 20 years ago, Cedar Rapids missed out on receiving a large grant from Gov. Tom Vilsack’s Vision Iowa Program. Although it was local voters who torpedoed “River Run for Cedar Rapids” by turning down a local sales tax to help pay for it.

Destination Iowa could be different. And some blue counties have received bucks, including Polk County. Black Hawk and Linn counties received $3.5 million for paving 16 miles of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. Marion received $3 million for its central plaza and development of the CeMar Trail. The grant will pay for 40 percent of the Marion project’s cost.

And yes, mayor, the largest award so far is a $12.5 million grant awarded to Dyersville for the “This is Iowa Ballpark” that can host Major League Baseball games. Destination Iowa also promised $6 million for a Field of Dreams TV show filmed in central Iowa. But this past week producers of the show turned down the money after scrapping plans to film in 2023.

So Cedar Rapids’ grant application remains alive. In the meantime, take the former anchorwoman’s advice. Stay awesome, Cedar Rapids.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com

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