The new casino that opened this weekend in Riverside will include an 18-hole golf course by next year, and developers are also hoping the proposed Earthpark rainforest project will be built there too.
C-E-O Dan Kehl says they’ve made a good bid for the Earthpark. He says his family has offered two million dollars and the casino has offered the rainforest one million dollars a year. Kehl says they’re also offering over 100 acres of land across from the casino to build the rainforest.
Kehl says they have a couple of reasons for wanting the rainforest near the casino. Kehl says they think the rainforest is a “great project” and good for Iowa. And he says they think the rainforest would bring in more traffic and the rainforest and casino could both benefit from each other. Riverside is competing with Pella and Tiffin as the finalists to host the project. Kehl says an announcement of the winning site is expected sometime this month.