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Take a Chance With C.R. Entertainment Offerings

Andrew Taylor

The Gazette

March 9, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by The Gazette, 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 Gazette.]

    Cedar Rapids needs to find an identity before it’s the second smallest city in Iowa. I keep hearing that our city used to be known as the state’s progressive city. Driving through downtown it looks to me like ‘‘the city that froze in time’’ 30 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cedar Rapids. But as a 25-year-old, I’m bored. I do not find shopping for fruits and veggies exciting or entertaining. Maybe my grandparents from Kansas City will drive all the way here for the Cedar Rapids year-round farmers market.

    The spirit of Cedar Rapids is getting lost in all the dumb and boring ideas. Dubuque and Waterloo each has a water park, casino and successful history center. Watch those cities continue to prosper as the spirit here dies. Just watch all our young people getting great educations in our excellent school systems and then moving to more entertaining or bigger cities. Does it sound like we’re investing in our city?

    I took my family to the Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque. It was fun, and we spent a lot of money. This money could have stayed here, except Cedar Rapids doesn’t take risks on tourist attractions and entertainment.

    We like farmers markets, trails, big metal trees, Touch-Play machines and retirement homes. What we need is a fresh start; we need to rejuvenate this city, take a chance and offer something people actually care to see. We need to think better than Cedar Bend. I hope that it all began with the change in our form of government, for the sake of Cedar Rapids.

    Andrew Taylor
 
    Cedar Rapids