Polk County pitches revised Vision Iowa request

Polk County officials made another pitch for 75-million dollars in “Vision Iowa” funds Wednesday for its “Iowa Events Center.” Polk County has revised its original plan for a sports arena and the renovation of Vets Auditorium to include the proposed Hall of Pride and a new Science Center. The Vision Iowa Board which hands out the funds had indicated earlier that the original 201-million dollar project was too narrow in scope. Board chairman Michael Gartner says the revised plan does address that concern.Gartner says the board will now examine Polk County’s revised proposal and it’ll still be several weeks before there’s any decision on whether and how much money Polk County might receive. The board approved its third award Wednesday — agreeing to 21-million dollars for Sioux City’s riverfront project. That leaves the board with around 100-million dollars remaining in the fund for projects.