Iowa

Iowa commission to set timeline on potential Cedar Rapids casino

Published

2 years ago

July 8, 2024

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.

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.

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.

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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

Iowa Boys High School State Basketball Tournament Sets Two Classes

Published

8 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Boys High School State Basketball Tournament Sets Two Classes

The Class 1A and Class 2A Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets are now official following substate action.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Tournament begins Monday, March 9 from the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

St. Edmond, the top-seed in 1A, gets Woodbine in a rematch of a quarterfinal from a year ago. Woodbine ended the run of defending state champion Madrid in a substate final on the same court that St. Edmond qualified on when they defeated Riverside.

Burlington Notre Dame plays Bellevue, MMCRU meets Boyden-Hull and Bishop Garrigan battles Bellevue Marquette Catholic in the other elite eight games.

The other substate finals saw Burlington Notre Dame defeat Calamus-Wheatland, MMCRU eliminated North Union, Bishop Garrigan downed South Winneshiek, Bellevue bested East Marshall and Bellevue Marquette Catholic topped Montezuma.

In 2A, Kuemper Catholic is the No. 1 seed and will face Union Community in the opening game on Wednesday, March 11. The other quarterfinals see Treynor vs. Grundy Center, Unity Christian vs. defending state champion Western Christian and Iowa City Regina vs. Aplington-Parkersburg.

Kuemper Catholic survived vs. Roland-Story, Union knocked off Pella Christian in a nail-biter, Treynor bested Underwood, Grundy Center downed Beckman Catholic, Unity Christian handled Southeast Valley, Western Christian ran past Tri-Center, Iowa City Regina downed Northeast and Aplington-Parkersburg defeated Cascade.

Here are the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament pairings for Class 1A and Class 2A.

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, March 10

Semifinals

Thursday, March 12

Championship

Friday, March 13

Wednesday, March 11

Semifinals

Thursday, March 12

Championship

Friday, March 13

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Iowa

Minnesota Wild Recalls Tyler Pitlick From Iowa | Minnesota Wild

Published

20 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota Wild Recalls Tyler Pitlick From Iowa | Minnesota Wild

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forward Tyler Pitlick from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Pitlick, 34 (11/1/91), has tallied two goals, 24 penalty minutes (PIM) and 26 shots in 31 games with Minnesota this season and ranks fourth on the team with 76 hits. He has also collected 11 points (8-3=11) and 31 shots in 12 games with Iowa. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound native of Minneapolis, Minn., owns 111 points (58-53=111) and 565 shots on goal in 451 career NHL games over 11 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers (2013-17), Dallas Stars (2017-19), Philadelphia Flyers (2019-20), Arizona Coyotes (2020-21), Calgary Flames (2021-22), Montreal Canadiens (2021-22), St. Louis Blues (2022-23), New York Rangers (2023-24) and Minnesota (2025-26). He has tallied three points (2-1=3) in 22 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. Pitlick has also recorded 140 points (60-89=149) in 289 career AHL games in parts of eight seasons with the Oklahoma City Barons (2011-15), Bakersfield Condors (2015-16), Hartford Wolf Pack (2023-24), Providence Bruins (2024-25) and Iowa (2025). He was originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round (31st overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft. Pitlick was signed by Minnesota as a free agent on July 2, 2025, and wears sweater No. 19 with the Wild.

Minnesota hosts the St. Louis Blues tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.3.

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Iowa

Iowa Boys High School Basketball Substate Finals Locked In For 4A

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Iowa Boys High School Basketball Substate Finals Locked In For 4A

The fourth and final bunch of Iowa high school boys basketball substate championship games are now set after the second round of Class 4A games were completed on Friday, February 27.

Substate championships in Iowa’s largest classification will take place on Tuesday, March 3, with the higher seed serving as host in all eight games. Winners advance to Des Moines, Iowa and the Casey’s Center to compete in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Tournament beginning March 9.

Three-time defending 4A state champion Valley was eliminated by Ankeny, 72-36. The Tigers, who lost all five starters from a year ago, won just one game prior to earning a victory in the opening round of postseason play.

Cedar Falls, who has held the No. 1 spot in 4A throughout the season, scored a dominating 78-45 decision vs. Iowa City High to move on.

Colin Rice, a Nebraska commit for Fred Hoiberg, scored a single-game school-record 50 points as Waukee Northwest topped Iowa City Liberty, 101-58.

Council Bluffs Lincoln, Ames, North Scott, Dowling Catholic, Dubuque Senior, Johnston, Linn-Mar, Muscatine, Norwalk, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Des Moines Roosevelt, Urbandale and Waukee all joined them in the next round after winning games at home.

The 1A and 2A substate finals will take place on Saturday, February 28 while the 3A games go down on Monday, March 2.

Here are the Iowa boys high school basketball Class 4A substate finals for Wednesday, March 3.

Wednesday, March 3

Class 4A

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