Now more than a week removed from opening back up, team members and guests at MBCH are all navigating a changed landscape but are nonetheless hopeful and glad to be back. The majority of the casinos throughout the State of Iowa chose to open their doors within a week of the governor’s proclamation but leaders on the Meskwaki Settlement opted for a more cautious approach and chose July 1st as its target date to begin the first phase of their reopening.
Around the same time Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds issued a proclamation allowing amusement parks, casinos, bowling alleys, and other entertainment venues to reopen. Leadership continued to assess the public health risks throughout the shutdown and in late May announced a tentative reopen date of July 1st.
The decision to close the Meskwaki Bingo Casino & Hotel (MBCH) came after a joint meeting between the Meskwaki Tribal Council and the casino’s Executive Management team on Monday, March 16. A view inside the gaming floor of the Meskwaki Bingo Casino & Hotel during the COVID-19 shutdown in spring of 2020.įor 105 days the largest employer in Tama County remained closed while states and nations battled the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
