From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
The Iowa Senate will not take up a casino moratorium bill that would have put a five-year moratorium on new Cedar Rapids casino licenses. This means the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission could have the final say on the license proposal on Thursday. An Iowa Senate subcommittee recommended passing the bill, but hours later, Senate leadership said the bill wouldn’t have enough Republican support to advance. Supporters say the $275 million Cedar Crossing casino will add $80 million of new gaming revenue for the state.
A Hiawatha man accused of trafficking a Dubuque teenager is expected to take the stand this morning. Investigators testified Jarod Anderson sold a 17-year-old from Dubuque for sex in a Cedar Rapids hotel last year. An officer also testified that Anderson tried to pin the blame on his co-defendant, Tana Torres. Anderson told the officer he didn’t know how nude photos of the 17-year-old got on his cell phone. Nude photos of the minor were sent to people inviting them to pay up to $400 to have sex with her.
People staying in what was once a Cedar Rapids hotel have been ordered to move out of their rooms this morning for their own safety. The building, now called Kiteville, is described as a minimalist living community. It is the former Ramada Inn off 33rd Avenue Southwest. In a news release, the city says Kiteville hasn’t paid its electric bill and the fire alarms and sprinkler systems are broken. People have been ordered to move out of the building by eight o’clock this morning.
At least seven trucks’ worth of snow was dumped at Dubuque’s Washington Park for this week’s Winter Arts Snow Sculpting Festival. Sundown Mountain Resort made the snow. Volunteers ground it up and poured it into eight foot tall frames. Starting tomorrow, professional and amateur sculptors will start competing for a $1,000 prize. The festival runs through Sunday.
