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Iowa commission to set timeline on potential Cedar Rapids casino

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Iowa commission to set timeline on potential Cedar Rapids casino


ALTOONA, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will soon start the process of reviewing an application for a casino license for a facility in Cedar Rapids.

Joint Applicants Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) and the Linn County Gaming Association say they’re planning to turn their plans in at the end of the month.

Jonathan Swain with P2E said they’re updating a few things before they turn their application in. “Our application has been ready for a couple of years. In 2021, we essentially selected the new site, the new amenities, the building, and the location,” Swain said.

Applicants are placing bets that a casino coming to Cedar Rapids would bring jobs and a boost to the local economy. In addition, they’ll contribute 8% of their revenue to nonprofits in the city. Anne Parmley with the Linn County Gaming Association said that’ll work out to $5-7 million a year. “It’s the highest gaming revenue contribution in the state,” Parmley said.

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But not everyone has something positive to say about the proposal. Gary Thelen of West Des Moines said when Cedar Rapids voters defeated a proposed casino in 2003, people who would’ve rolled the dice and invested money in the city went elsewhere. “Now it’s too late to correct that vote. I have nothing against the people of Linn County, but they have to accept the consequences of their 2003 negative votes,” Thelen said.

Other casinos are worried about their revenues. Back in 2014 and 2017, the commission denied the city because green lighting it would take money from existing casinos and give it to Cedar Rapids. It’s something commission going to have to look at this time too.

Daryl Olsen, the Chair of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said, “There’s multiple things we have to look at. They all impact how we make a decision so that’s a hot topic but we’re going to look at all the aspects of it.”

The commission also voted at their meeting Monday to require a market study on the impacts of the proposed casino.

Here’s what commissioner Olsen says they’re looking for: ”What is the facility? What impact does it have? Tourism. The whole impact and part of that is as you addressed cannibalization so all of those questions are hopefully going to be reviewed and brought in on to the study,” Olsen said.

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Olsen says those studies usually take two to three months to complete.

Monday the commission decided that this Friday they’ll lay out the official timeline to get through this process, which generally takes six to nine months so people in Cedar Rapids can get their answer about whether they’ll finally get their casino.

Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Television-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.

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Iowa 104-57 New Orleans (Dec 15, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN

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Iowa 104-57 New Orleans (Dec 15, 2024) Game Recap – ESPN


IOWA CITY, Iowa — — Owen Freeman matched his career-best with 22 points and Iowa cruised to a 104-57 win over New Orleans on Sunday.

The Hawkeyes rebounded from their first home-court loss, falling 89-80 to No. 3 Iowa State on Thursday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

Brock Harding opened the game with a 3-pointer, but the Privateers answered with back-to-back layups from MJ Thomas and James White to take their only lead of the game, 4-3. Freeman answered with a layup and Payton Sandfort and Drew Thelwell each hit from deep to put Iowa in front for good and a 10-0 run made it 29-11 midway through the half.

Iowa (8-3) shot 62.7% from the field for the game (42 of 67), including 14 of 29 from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes amassed 28 assists on 42 made baskets. Sandfort hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Josh Dix and Brock Harding each added 13 points, with Harding collecting six assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Pryce Sandfort added 10 points off the bench.

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New Orleans, playing its first game in more than a week, was 25 of 67 from the field (37.3%) and was just 4 of 24 from long range. White paced the Privateers (2-7) with 24 points, six rebounds and two assists. Thomas added 14 points.

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Iowa women’s wrestling crowns three champions at North Central College Open

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Iowa women’s wrestling crowns three champions at North Central College Open


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Iowa women’s wrestling took a good portion of its squad to the North Central Open on Sunday, securing three individual titles from Nanea Estrella, Macey Kilty and Kylie Welker.

Bringing 13 wrestlers to the top division of the tournament, with Danni Swihart competing in the B-Division, 11 Hawkeyes finished on the podium in the top division. Even without several starters, the Hawkeyes took second behind only North Central’s mostly full squad.

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Iowa’s stars who made the trip to Naperville, Illinois shined, as Estrella, Kilty and Welker combined to go 14-0. They outscored their opponents 131-1 combined.

Alivia White was a surprise, racing to take second at 203 pounds. She defeated teammate Katja Osteen by fall on her way to the finals. Even without Jaycee Foeller, the Hawkeyes had White, Osteen and Samantha Calkins all place at the tournament at 203 pounds.

Accounting for only the results from the A-Division, which housed top wrestlers from each team, North Central had 166.5 team points to Iowa’s 136.5.

It’s hard to compare Iowa and North Central, given the Hawkeyes and CArdinals had limited lineups. The Hawkeyes were without Sterling Dias, Brianna and Emilie Gonzalez, Skye Realin, Reese Larramendy, Kennedy Blades and Foeller to name a few. North Central did not have former Hawkeye Bella Mir or 203-pound No. 2 Traeh Haynes for example as well.

Regardless, having two champions and five finalists suggests the Cardinals will be a challenger once again come the postseason to the Hawkeyes.

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Here are the individual results for each wrestler for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa women’s wrestling results from North Central Open

  • Rianne Murphy – 2nd at 103 pounds (3-1)
  • Val Solorio – 3rd at 110 pounds (5-1)
  • Cali Leng – 6th at 124 pounds (3-3)
  • Ava Rose – DNP at 124 pounds (1-2)
  • Allie Baudhuin – DNP at 131 pounds (1-2)
  • Emmily Patneaud – 6th at 131 pounds (2-3)
  • Nanea Estrella – 1st at 138 pounds (4-0)
  • Cadence Diduch – 3rd at 138 pounds (5-1)
  • Danni Swihart (B-Division) – 5th at 138 pounds (3-2)
  • Macey Kilty – 1st at 145 pounds (4-0)
  • Kylie Welker – 1st at 180 pounds (6-0)
  • Samantha Calkins – 4th at 207 pounds (4-2)
  • Alivia White – 2nd at 207 pounds (3-1)
  • Katja Osteen – 5th at 207 pounds (3-2, 3-1 vs. non-Hawkeyes)

Match-by-match results can be found on trackwrestling.com

This story was updated to add new information.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.





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Iowa State football lands two wide receivers from transfer portal

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Iowa State football lands two wide receivers from transfer portal


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Iowa State football brought in some talent on Saturday.

The Cyclones landed two wide receivers from the NCAA transfer portal in Chase Sowell (East Carolina) and Xavier Townsend (UCF).

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They both have two years of eligibility remaining.

Here’s some information on the two newcomers:

Chase Sowell stats

  • 2024 (9 games): 34 catches, 678 yards, 3 TDs
  • 2023 (11 games): 47 catches, 622 yards, 1 TD
  • 2022 (1 game): 2 catches, 23 yards

The 6-4, 195-pound wideout enjoyed his best career season in 2024 despite missing three games due to injury, according to 247Sports.

Most impressively, he increased his average yards per reception by 6.7 to 19.9, indicating he can be a big-play threat for the Cyclones.

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His best stretch in 2024 came in the middle of the season in back-to-back games against Temple and Army, in which Sowell combined for 11 catches and 255 yards with two scores.

Xavier Townsend stats

  • 2024 (4 games): 10 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD
  • 2023 (10 games): 31 catches, 316 yards, 3 TDs
  • 2022 (8 games): 16 catches, 102 yards

The 5-11, 185-pound wideout sat out the final eight games of 2024 in order to retain his eligibility, according to ESPN.

Across the first four games, Townsend’s best performance was the season opener with four catches for 50 yards against Colorado.



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