$80 million port project
is the lone applicant to show up for Vision Iowa funds
M.D. Kittle
Dubuque Telegraph Herald
October 4, 2006
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You can't win if you don't
play. But what happens when you're the only competitor on the field? Proponents
of a portly development proposal at the Port of Dubuque must like their
chances as they eye the whole prize in a Vision Iowa money chase. One state
official claims the funding odds seem pretty good for an $80 million riverfront
project that would bring a new casino and a bigger museum to the port.
The public/private partnership was the lone applicant to file a grant request
with Vision Iowa before Monday's deadline, according to Tonja Richards,
of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The application, seeking
the full $5 million remaining in Vision Iowa's coffers, reportedly passed
the technical review process on its way to this month's Vision Iowa Board
meeting. Billed by its stakeholders as "America's River Phase 2," the plan
calls for a $32 million expansion of the river museum, nearly doubling
its current footprint and positioning it on the banks of the Mississippi
River. The project would add a 250-seat RiverMax 3D/4D theater and the
showcasing Great Rivers Center . . ..