WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – A Waterloo grocery store will soon be operating under new ownership. In a Facebook post on Monday, Rodney Anderson, the owner of All In Grocers, at 221 Franklin Street, announced the business has been sold. Anderson said the current store staff will maintain their jobs and benefits as the new ownership takes over. While Anderson did not identify the new ownership group, he did say it would make itself known soon. Last month, the store switched to a new wholesaler after saying the previous wholesaler was charging too much for goods. The store then closed temporarily to allow a new wholesaler to adjust to the store. That closure came after the store was revamped in June to allow it to serve more customers. Anderson also did not cite specific reasons for selling the grocery store in Monday’s announcement, but he did mention multiple well-known chains, like Hy-Vee, Kwik Star and CVS that have closed stores in the area within a year of each other. He also said he knew change was needed, and talked about how he believes the new ownership group can elevate the business to a new level as it supports the local community.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A new Cedar Rapids Casino would mean $80 million in new gambling revenue for the state of Iowa, according to a study commissioned by the group behind the proposal. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) and the Linn County Gaming Association (LCGA) on Monday unveiled specifics of their $275 million proposed casino on the site of the former Cooper’s Mill site in northwest Cedar Rapids. The group has applied for a gaming license with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. A decision is expected to come early in 2025. As part of the announcement, the group also released findings of its own market study showing $80.2 million in new revenue for the casino. That’s up from $51 million cited in a 2021 market study. The bigger question is how much a new Cedar Rapids casino would hurt revenues at Iowa’s existing casinos. That is the factor that caused the state to reject previous proposals for a Cedar Rapids casino. The group’s market study projected a $27.8 million impact on revenues of nearby casinos. Riverside Casino would see the largest impact with an 11.6% crop in gaming revenue. Waterloo’s Isle Casino would lose 5.8% while Dubuque’s two casinos would lose 3 to 6% of revenue to a Cedar Rapids casino. The Cedar Rapids developers say that cannibalization of about 25% is in line with other casinos the IRGC has approved, like the 27% cannibalization for the Grand Falls Casino approved in 2011 and the 78% for Wild Rose in Jefferson County when it was approved in 2014. The IRGC has also commissioned its own market studies it will use in determining whether to approve a gaming license. The group also touted the millions of dollars in revenue that would be directed to local nonprofits through the Linn County Gaming Association. The group will present its proposal to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on October 3rd.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa’s State Auditor warned the state is failing to meet a federal mandate on nursing home inspections and staffing. The report notes the average nursing home in Iowa goes 17 months between inspections. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires an inspection on average once every 12.9 months and no nursing home should go 16 months between inspections. 85% of Iowa’s certified nursing homes did not meet that standard, according to the Auditor’s Report. In addition, Auditor Rob Sand said Iowa’s nursing homes are failing to meet new mandates for staffing levels. An April 2024 mandate from CMS requires nursing homes to have 3.48 nurse hours per resident per day, a ratio measurement of how many nurses are working per day in a facility per resident. Iowa’s statewide average meets that standard at 3.67 hours per resident per day. However, 45% of Iowa’s individual nursing homes reported staffing below that level, the 15th highest rate in the country. Iowa’s rate is even lower, the 6th lowest in the country, for licensed nurse staffing ratios. Iowa’s nursing homes also suffer from high staff turnover. The Auditor’s report found more than half, 54% of nursing staff, left their facility in the past year. That is the 17th-highest turnover rate in the country. Auditor Sand said his office conducted the report in hopes that Iowa policymakers can use it to implement solutions. He was not aware of any federal actions for Iowa’s nursing homes failing to meet federal standards.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Des Moines Police say a suspect is dead and two police officers are expected to survive following a chase and shooting early Monday morning. The Des Moines Police Department says at 1:40 a.m., officers attempted a traffic stop near the 2500-block of Easton Boulevard. The driver refused to stop and a chase began. As suspect turned onto E. 24th Street, his vehicle left the road and crashed. When police tried to arrest the suspect, he fired a handgun at officers. Multiple officers returned fire and the suspect was shot. During the exchange of gunfire, two Des Moines Police officers were shot. Both officers remain hospitalized but are expected to survive.
