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No rain forest for Eastern Iowa

Editorial

Iowa City Press-Citizen

October 1, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.]


It might sound hard to believe, but it's true. Earthpark officials -- after hinting last week that they might require more time -- have officially and finally chosen a site for the proposed $155 million rain forest (down from $300 million, down from $225 million, down from $180 million, etc.). The good news for Eastern Iowa is that Pella, and not Riverside, has won this decade-long contest.

Riverside Mayor Bill Poch told the Press-Citizen that he reacted to the news with a mix of disappointment and relief because the city council did not seem ready to move forward with the project had Riverside been chosen. But we think the relief should be unalloyed. Because the poor management of this project has turned off investors and burned funding bridges throughout the state, we're glad it's all now someone else's problem.

We can't wash our hands completely of the project, however, because David Oman and company will apply for state and federal grants to raise that $155 million. In May, Earthpark announced that it is partnering with the German technology company Siemens, but officials have yet to release the financial details of that relationship. Likewise, neither Earthpark nor Pella officials would provide details Thursday of the city's $25 million contribution.

Before any public money goes to this project, a lot of questions need to be answered -- and they need to be answered far more clearly than the Q&A Earthpark recently provided to the Riverside City Council.