Radio Iowa Blog Covering The David Oman EarthPork Press Conference

David Oman's typically evasive defense of how Iowa Child, The Environmental Project, EarthPork, EarthPark is going to be financed is on full display in Kay Henderson's Radio Iowa blog.

Required reading for all of you following the Pork Forest project.

EarthPork Update: Down to Riverside and Pella

From the Des Moines Register:

Organizers of Earthpark, the proposed environmental learning center, announced today that two communities have emerged as finalists for the $150 million project.

Development organizations in Riverside and Pella submitted financial packages to Earthpark directors that met or exceeded the $25 million in local funding stipulated last spring by the Earth Park board of directors...

...David Oman, the executive director of Earthpark, is scheduled to discuss the decision that led to selection of the two communities at a 3 p.m. news conference today.

Does David Oman really think that over million people a year are going to come to Riverside, much less Pella?

Pork, pork, pork, pork, pork, sueeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy!

No Earthpark For Grinnell

From the Des Moines Register:

The city of Grinnell withdrew from the list after it failed to raise the required $25 million match needed to contend for the proposed four-acre indoor rain forest...

The three cities left on the list of proposed sites are Pella, Tiffin and Riverside. Pella and Riverside have already secured the necessary $25 million, but as of the beginning of June, Tiffin had not.

About three weeks ago, Riverside made their offer public, which is tied to the casino there, but Pella had remained mute. The only indication I could find was a May story in the Register which quoted former Branstad/now Huckabee mouthpiece Eric Woolson as saying that Pella had exceeded their goal.

I'm not sure how Pella could come up with the money for EarthPork without a casino to supply the dough, unless they're planning on trafficking cocaine or winning the European International Lottery every month for the next 26 years.