The Avenue of the Saints Iowa's Child Homeless Shelter and Casino

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen's Letters to the Editor section:

Some Johnson County residents are angry a rain forest is being built. Some people in Iowa City are angry a new homeless shelter is being built. Some residents in Washington County are angry a casino is being built.

There are to many angry people in this area. To curb this anger I propose we build The Avenue of the Saints Iowa's Child Homeless Shelter and Casino.

The rain forest is a perfect living area for our homeless population. They can be free to live under the stars but are protected from the elements. They would be just another of God's creatures that inhabit the forest. The homeless also would have easy access to the gamblers. They could walk right up and ask for contributions, and the gamblers could be charitable without ever having to leave their seat, all the while having beautiful scenery to look at.

The rain forest would benefit because the revenue that was generated by the gamblers would keep it operational. The taxpayers will be happy because they wouldn't have to foot the bill to keep the rain forest afloat or pay for a homeless shelter. In the end we would have peace on our saintly avenue instead of outrage and anger.

Tim Borchardt
Iowa City

Related: Pitch Your Tent At Rainforest Motel 42

Then there was this today in the Waterloo Courier:

Regarding the indoor rain forest in Coralville, I believe we should not be wasting our money on something that is only going to attract tourists, if that. We need to ask our government why the state's money is going toward a rain forest, instead of roads, schools and even job funding. What we need in this state is something that is going to attract people to come and live here, not just drive through. Why spend $5 million to build a rain forest when it is just used to attract tourists and isn't going to be used many times.

Melissa Lackas
Independence

It's only going to cost $5 million? Did they reduce the size and scope of the project to that of a mobile home?