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New state gambling studies released

May 12, 2009 By

Two new reports on the potential for new casino gambling in Iowa say the state is approaching its betting limit. The report from G.V. Marquette Associates says their analysis finds that most of Iowa is approaching an “equilibrium” situation, where the supply of gaming Approximately matches up with maximum demand from the population.

The report says while several individual casino projects may be financially feasible, most of the casino development alternatives considered would create only a modest amount of new gaming demand in Iowa, and would in turn take away from the existing casinos. The only exception is the proposed casino in far northwest Iowa’s Lyon County.

The report says a Lyon County casino could capture a large amount of out-of-state gamblers due to its proximity to the Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the lack of nearby casino facilities to that city. The other study by the Innovation Group found some similar results, although it used different methods to look at the casinos.

That study found the Lyon County facility shows the most promise. The Innovation group found the Wild Rose in Emmetsburg would be hit the hardest in lost business if new casinos were approved with projected revenue losses of 20 to 27% of its business. It says Terrible’s Lakeside Casino in Osceola would also be significantly impacted, mainly due to the proposed Wapello County facility –with an estimated loss of gaming revenue from 15 to 20%.

The two groups will present their reports to the Racing and Gaming Commission at their June meeting. The commission has said it would wait to review the studies before determining if it would grant any new gambling licenses. Wapello, Webster, Franklin, Tama and Lyon counties have approved referendums and hope to be granted a license to open a casino.

See both gambling studies here .

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: ,

Polk County judge dismisses smoking ban lawsuit

May 12, 2009 By

A Polk County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Iowa Bar Owners Coalition that questioned the constitutionality of the state’s ban on smoking in most public places. The Iowa Attorney General’s office was preparing to defend the state at trial, which was scheduled to start June 30th.

A.G.’s office spokesperson Bob Brammer says they felt the case might be thrown out after a judge denied a preliminary injunction last summer to block the law from taking effect until the lawsuit was settled. "We were hopeful that the court would dismiss this and there were signs last month that they would dismiss it," Brammer said.

"We understand the plaintiffs had informed the court that their lawyer had withdrawn and the court made it clear that the case might be dismissed." The fight over the Smokefree Air Act is far from over.

Over 40 liquor license enforcement actions are pending before the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. Brammer says some of those bar owners are hoping to take their cases to court. "It’s possible constitutional issues could come up…a couple of cases that have gone the farthest have asked for judicial review by the courts and the courts have yet to announce whether they’ll take up those matters," Brammer said.

The bars that have filed petitions for judicial review are Fro’s in Wilton and Otis Campbell’s Bar in West Burlington. The owner of Fro’s, Brian Froehlich, is part of the Iowa Bar Owners Coalition. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Plan could cut magistrates in 16 counties

May 12, 2009 By

A plan to change up the number of Iowa magistrates is still awaiting Governor Culver’s signature to become law. It would cut the number of magistrates in 16 rural Iowa counties while raising the number in the state’s ten most populous counties.

Attorney and magistrate Rick Dunn, of Hardin County, says a lawsuit was filed to block the move and it will be subject of an Iowa Supreme Court hearing on May 18th. Dunn says the "wild card" is if the governor takes action on the bill prior to the hearing or if a settlement is reached before the hearing date.

He says because it’s an active lawsuit, "you just never know what may occur." Dunn calls the legislative move significant, but it hasn’t yet had an impact. Dunn says: "That legislation, however, is currently pending on the governor’s desk. It’s unclear whether he will sign it or not. If he signs it, that’s real good news. If not, then, that’s not as good a news of course for the 16 (counties) affected."

Dunn says he and the other attorney who filed suit, Warren Bush, dismissed the case against Iowa Court Administrator David Boyd without prejudice. The move allows the option to later refile the suit.

Dunn says that was done in response to the legislature taking action to correct the problem. The suit alleges Boyd did not follow state law when he pressed to reallocate Iowa’s 206 magistrates.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Flood damage forces Boys State Soccer Tournament to move

May 12, 2009 By

Damage to the Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines has forced the Iowa High School Athletic Association to move next month’s state soccer tournament to alternate sites. Dave Anderson of the IHSAA says the playing fields at Cownie Park were damaged by flooding last summer.

Anderson says they have been working on the fields since March and set May 1st as the date to determine if they could use the fields. He says they decided the fields could be playable, but not of the quality they would like for a state championship.

Anderson says the tournament will now be held at Urbandale and Southeast Polk high schools as well as Valley Stadium in West Des Moines. Urbandale will host the three championship matches on June sixth. Anderson says they started contacting alternative sites in March and the member schools were willing to help out, knowing that the tournament will return to Cownie in 2010.

Anderson expects Cownie Park to be ready for next year’s tournament. He says they are doing tremendous work on the park and have been getting help from the Iowa Cubs ground crew to install drainage and sod to make the best effort to make it the best soccer stadium in the state of Iowa.

The switch of the tournament is to sites that all now have artificial turf fields. Urbandale , which will host the championship games, just opened its new field this fall. The boy’s state soccer tournament begins on June 4th.

 

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Iowa Speedway predicts record crowds this season

May 12, 2009 By

The Iowa Speedway is set for it’s opening weekend of action. It will be capped off by the NASCAR Casmping World Series race on Sunday afternoon. Iowa Speedway president Jerry Jauron feels the 12-day race season rivals any track in the nation. He says you won’t find any other track that has the varied 12-race schedule for the ticket price they offer.

With four NASCAR sanctioned events and the Indy Racing League returning record crowds are expected this year. Jauron predicts record crowds for the opening week and says the crowds will get bigger each week. Jauron says there are well over 20,000 season ticket holders for this season and final preparations are underway.

Jauron says the spring has been wet, which has prevented them from mowing the parking areas, but they’ve had some dry weather and have been able to get out and mow. Late Models and Super Trucks will open the season on Saturday.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

More golfers sign up for Principal Charity Classic

May 12, 2009 By

More big names are signing up for the Principal Charity Classic later this month in West Des Moines. Among the latest to committee are 1998 PGA champ Jeff Sluman and Nick Price, who won the PGA in 1992 and the British Open in 1994.

Tournament director Jamie Alt says they have 26 of the current top 30 money winners from the Champions Tour. He says the Principal Charity Classic is one of the most popular events on the Champions Tour. Alt says the players say they love Des Moines for the course and the community support of the tournament. He says thousands come out and wrap around the 18th green, while other tournaments have only 20 or 30 people out.

Alt says Mark O’Mera and Fred Funk are two of the notable names just added to the list. The Principal Charity Classic is May 26th through the 31st at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines.

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Senate dismisses ethics complaint in gay marriage issue

May 12, 2009 By

The Senate Ethics Committee today unanimously dismissed a complaint against a Senator who urged county recorders to not grant marriage licenses to same sex couples. The committee ruled the complaint against Senator Merlin Bartz, a Republican from Grafton, was without merit.

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton says Bartz was simply using his constitutional right to free speech. McKinleys says, "I think he exercised that responsibly. We may or may not agree with the side of issue he took but it was a freedom of speech issue as I look at it."

Senator Dick Dearden, a Democrat from Des Moines, says Bartz used his own website to circulate the petition urging the county recorders to not issue the licenses — so there was no violation of taxpayer trust.

Dearden says, "I may not agree with the issue but it was not in my opinion was not a violation of the ethics rule." The complaint was filed by former state representative Ed Fallon, a Democrat from Des Moines.

Bartz says he was surprised by the complaint and feels vindicated by the dismissal. "I’ve served 13 years in the Iowa Legislature- this was the first ethics complaint that was ever filed against me. And even though I stand very firm that I thought it had no merit, just the fact that it was filed creates kind of a shadow that you have to walk in for awhile," Bartz says.

Bartz says he was simply exercising his first amendment right to speak. Bartz says, "Freedom of speech is one of the ultimate freedoms that we have and I think the committee understood that, the fact that state legislators should be able to speak their mind on a variety of issues."

Fallon is a former candidate for governor and congress who now runs an activist group that supports gay rights as one of its issues. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With: , , ,
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