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.