Linn County gambling vote not expected to hurt Cedar Rapids project

Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate says the failure of a gambling referendum yesterday in Linn County will have no bearing on the city’s 10-and-a-half million dollar “Vision Iowa” grant from the state. Pate says there’s a master plan for using that money to develop the Cedar Rapids riverfront and the city has a plan for meeting the state’s demand that Cedar Rapids match that state grant.Gambling proponents had hoped to open a floating casino in Cedar Rapids if state gaming regulators lift a moratorium on new operating licenses. Pate says he did not endorse the idea of having gambling in Cedar Rapids, but he and the rest of the city council appointed a “citizens commission” to develop plans for including a riverboat casino in the city’s “River Run” concept. Pate believes gambling proponents will probably try to pass the referendum again. Pate says two years is a long time, however, and a lot can change in that time period. He says city leaders need to develop an economic development strategy, and gaming will not be a part of it. Yesterday’s gambling referendum in Linn County failed, with 53 percent voting “no” to gambling and 47 percent voting “yes.”