05-02-2025
Casino moratorium dies in Iowa Senate, commission will decide Cedar Crossing's future
DES MOINES, Iowa — In a move that surprised Cedar Rapids city officials and business leaders, Iowa lawmakers will not block a proposal for a casino in town.
Just last week members of the Iowa House voted in favor of a five-year moratorium on new casino licenses granted by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. But as that same bill worked through the Iowa Senate chamber on Tuesday, a Republican committee chair declined to bring up the bill.
'Today I chose not to bring forward HF 144 in committee. I am no fan of gambling and my decision not to advance this legislation should not be considered in support of casino expansion,' said State Senator Ken Rozenboom, (R) District 19 from Oskaloosa. 'According to my conversations, this bill did not have enough support from Senate Republicans to advance all the way through the Senate process. In the interest of moving this session forward to other issues of critical importance to Iowans, I have no plans to reconsider the legislation for the remainder of this session.'
The bill outside of the five-year ban on casino construction would have also prevented the commission from awarding licenses to new projects if it would impact an existing casino's receipts by 10%. Those opposed to the Cedar Crossing Casino project cited numbers for surrounding casinos, with studies showing it would cost Riverside Casino and Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo millions annually.
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This bill blocked in the Iowa Senate is something city officials and business leaders in Cedar Rapids have been wanting — the ability to make the case to the commission.
'To be honest it took my breath away for a minute and I had to rewind and ask the people next to me that I really just heard what I heard,' said Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell, City of Cedar Rapids. '… it's certainly is a victory for this latest hurdle. I'm well aware that we have the ultimate hurdle coming up this Thursday when we hear from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.'
Cedar Rapids was rejected for a license by the commission in 2014 and again in 2017 for a new license. But O'Donnell is hopeful that the meeting this February 6 is different.
'I think it's a different landscape than when the racing and gaming commission looked at this project before. The studies show that we are ready for more competition and specifically this project brings so much to the eastern portion of our state in the second largest city. You know, not only will it bring economic opportunity for us, but it also comes at a time when the state's looking for new revenue,' said O'Donnell.
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