CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A pair of new bills introduced Wednesday into the Iowa House & Iowa Senate aims to ban the development of the Cedar Crossing Casino development, even after the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission award developers a gaming license.
State Rep. Megan Jones (R-Clay County) and State Sen. Scott Webster (R-Bettendorf) filed companion bills Wednesday in each respective chamber. A Senate subcommittee meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning at 11 a.m.
The bill bans urban renewal plan projects from having gaming facilities in “which a license has been issued on or after January 1 ,2025.”
Cedar Rapids City Council in December approved a deal with developers to build the casino between F and I Avenue NW and 1st and 5th Streets NW in Cedar Rapids, using the Urban Renewal Act. You can read more about the deal here on page 9.
The Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission awarded the developers a gaming license on Feb. 6. The commission had denied Cedar Rapids a gaming license in 2014 and 2017. The development is still facing legal action from Riverside Casino and the Washington County Riverboat Foundation. The petition originally filed in November, says verbiage on the 2021 ballot measure to approve gaming in Linn County was worded incorrectly, since it said to “continue” gaming, when there was no gaming in the first place. The commission denied Riverside’s legal action but a judge is still considering it with a hearing scheduled for Friday.
City leaders and developers broke ground the week a license was awarded and construction has already started at the site. Iowa’s News Now reached out to the casino developer for comment but have not heard back.
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