(Radio Iowa) – A bill under consideration in the Iowa House would lower the state tax rate for Iowa’s state-licensed casinos to be at or near the tax rate for casinos in Nebraska and Missouri. Illinois casinos have variable tax rates, based on the size of the market and the games offered.

Mark Joyce, a lobbyist for the company that operates the Diamond Jo casinos in Northwood and Dubuque, said lowering taxes would be a welcome move. “It’s a very mature industry in Iowa and the newer casinos in surrounding states, in particular in Nebraska, are going to be brand new,” Joyce said. “They’re going to be taxed at 20% so for us to be able to have extra capital to put back in the properties and better compete for your business, that’s why.”

Lobbyist Doug Struyk represents the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington, which he said is facing competition from new casinos in Illinois. Struyk also represents Caesars Entertainment which owns the Horseshoe and Harrah’s casinos in Council Bluffs that soon will be competing with a new casino in Omaha. “Tremendous amount of pressures on the industry, so we appreciate you taking a look at this,” Stryk said during a House subcommittee hearing today.

Gaming revenue from the three Council Bluffs casinos began to dip when the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln opened in September of 2022 and Harrah’s opened in Columbus, Nebraska in June of last year. Struyk said that has slowed the flow of gamblers from Nebraska into Iowa. “So it will to take additional investment in the facilities in Iowa to continue to be bright, shining new attractions to keep people wanting to come over and utilize the Iowa facilities instead of the Nebraska facilities,” Struyk said.

Another WarHorse Casino is expected to open in Omaha by August of this year. Representative Jane Bloomingdale is sponsoring the bill to gradually lower Iowa’s casino taxes over a three year period. She’s from Northwood. The state-licensed Diamond Jo casino is nearby.

“We’re lowering taxes for individuals, we’re lowering taxes for corporations, but we’re not lowering taxes for casinos. It just doesn’t seem fair,” Bloomingdale said. “If we’re going to lower taxes for everyone across the state of Iowa, we maybe need to look at everyone.”

Bloomingdale’s bill has cleared a House subcommittee, but one member of the panel said she’s concerned cutting casino taxes will lower the amount of money deposited in the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. Money from the fund is used on a variety of projects, from lake dredging to constructing or repairing state-owned buildings.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Auditor’s Office reports the next scheduled election for which candidates can file is the June 4, 2024 Primary Election. State and County Democratic and Republican candidates must run in the June 4th Primary, with the winners moving on to the General Election ballot.

County offices appearing on the June 4, 2024 Primary Election Ballot are as follows:

• District 1NW Supervisor
• District 3SW Supervisor
• District 5GF Supervisor
• County Sheriff
• County Auditor
• County Recorder (To Fill Vacancy).

The filing period for these offices is March 4 – March 22, 2024 (5:00 p.m.).

Information for candidates is available at the County Auditor’s Office and website https://www.adaircounty.iowa.gov/auditor/elections_and_voting/ and the Iowa Secretary of State’s website: https://sos.iowa.gov/elections/candidates/index.html

The following is a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office via the Iowa Dept. of Public Safety:

Samantha Meyer-Davis (Booking photo)

(Radio Iowa) – Three of the Iowa Republicans who serve in the U-S House have filed their nomination papers for the June Primary on the opening day the lists of petition signatures are being accepted. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion collected far more than the 17-hundred-26 minimum required for U-S House candidates to qualify for the primary ballot.

“I am submitting more than 7500 signatures today which I think is a strong showing of our level of grassroots support and the network we have built in the second congressional district,” Hinson told reporters. Republican Congressman Zach Nunn of Bondurant submitted more than 10-thousand signatures on his nominating petitions for the third congressional district race and Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who’s seeking reelection in Iowa’s first congressional district, submitted her nominating papers, too.

Secretary of State Paul Pate is Iowa’s top election official. He says Nunn was the first candidate to file when the office opened at 8 a.m. and several candidates for the state legislature have submitted their paperwork this (Monday) morning. “They’ve got ’til March 15 to get their petitions filed here and I encourage people to do it earlier not late because things can happen,” Pate says. “Our staff now will be reviewing the petitions to make sure they have the right count.” Candidates with the bare minimum number of signatures run the risk of having a rival campaign review the petitions and challenge the validity of some signatures.

In 2018, Ron Corbett — a Republican candidate for governor — was ruled ineligible for the June Primary due to a lack of signatures. In 2022, a challenge of Abby Finkenauer’s nominating petitions for the Democratic party’s U-S Senate Primary went all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court.