Community Coalition Forms to Oppose Plans for Linn County Casino

A group of Linn County residents calling themselves "Just Say No Casino" has formed to oppose plans for a new casino in the Cedar Rapids area.

The group says the public deserves more information about the $80 million-plus casino before the issue is called to a vote, which could be this spring with enough signatures.

“We just don't need a casino in Cedar Rapids,“ Just Say No Casino chairman Frank King said in a news release. “City and county leaders should be focusing on real economic development, not a casino that could cost taxpayers $100,000 for the special election alone and eventually take business away from local restaurants and entertainment venues."

Supporters say a casino would bring jobs and new revenue to the area.

A group called "Vote Yes Linn County" has been up and running and collecting signatures, KGAN reported last month. They need nearly 12,000 to get it on the ballot.

"We see the opportunity for something new and lively in our community,” Marcia Rogers, communications director for Vote Yes Linn County, told KGAN. “We see all the things around us that are being rebuilt after the flood, and we think a casino would be a great addition to that."

The Vote No group is demanding answers about who are the 40 investors backing the casino, where they want to locate it, and who would operate it. They also blasted elected officials for supporting the casino based on limited information.

"I'm not sure how our city council or supervisors could support it before they knew any of the details either?” King said.

They will be collecting signatures for their own petition, and rallying support and sharing information on their newly launched website and in social media through Facebook and Twitter.

Several local organizations are endorsing the casino, including the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Building Trades Council and the Building Pros of Eastern Iowa.

“This proposed development, ownership and investment structure helps ensures this casino would benefit the Cedar Rapids regional economy by creating good jobs, contributing to community development and encouraging additional economic redevelopment and investment,” Doug Neumann, executive vice president of the Metro Alliance, told the Gazette this month.

Officials from the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort just south of Iowa City and less than an hour from Cedar Rapids, are among those that oppose the casino.

"A casino would devastate us,” Dan Kehl, CEO of Riverside Casino, told KGAN. “If they get it, we'll do everything we can to oppose it. It will cannibalize the other casinos in eastern Iowa," Kehl said.