Republican Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa attended the groundbreaking event at the site of a new 60,000 sq. ft. indoor sports complex in the town of Ottumwa. She said the complex — which will include three full size basketball courts, turf soccer and football fields and batting cages — is coming “with the help of a Destination Iowa Grant!”
Destination Iowa Grants are federally funded awards made available through the American Rescue Plan Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law and Reynolds attacked during her re-election campaign in 2021. The Act was the biggest legislative win in the first year of Biden’s administration.
A new 60,000 sq foot, state of the art indoor sports complex is coming to Ottumwa with the help of a Destination Iowa Grant! pic.twitter.com/NmYcgj3e7e
— Gov. Kim Reynolds (@IAGovernor) February 22, 2024
Reynolds referred to the act as a “blue state bailout” and wrote on Twitter: “I stood alongside 21 other Republican Governors to OPPOSE President Biden’s plan to use YOUR taxpayer dollars to bail out blue states like CA, NY, and IL.”
According to data from the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the state of Iowa “receives more from the federal government than it sends to Washington, D.C., meaning Iowans are not actually bailing out anyone.”
Note: None of the 21 other Republican Governors — including those who opposed Biden’s plan –refused the aid.
According to the Destination Iowa Grant website, as of June 2023, $480,265,783 in total investment has been “activated” in the Hawkeye State. Iowa was granted $2.7 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act.