NOTE: Linn County’s Planning & Zoning Commission will consider rezoning land for the proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, and the Linn County Board of Supervisors will have a public hearing and first consideration of the rezoning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, both in Ballroom B of the Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Jayda Booth’s family business has endured a pandemic, downturns in the economy and a hurricane-strength derecho windstorm, but she questions if it can survive its latest threat: a proposed gas-fired power plant in their backyard.
Booth, 20, was expected to take the reins of the Ced-Rel Motel, a storied stop along Highway 30 at the west outskirts of Cedar Rapids that has also been home to the iconic Ced-Rel Supper Club, but future plans have been put on hold as Alliant Energy pursues construction of a 720-megawatt gas-fired power plant on 160 acres of farmland next door.
“It definitely has a lot of history here,” Booth, an accounting student at Kirkwood Community College said of the Ced-Rel, “even just with our family.”
Related: Alliant seeks rezoning for power plant
Jayda Booth holds a piece of history, motel rules dating back to the 1920s, at the Ced-Rel Motel. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
According to “The Supper Club Book,” which highlights more than 20 Midwestern supper clubs, the former speakeasy was named for owner Verlin “Stretch” Sedrel, and his wife, Isabelle, who bought the property in 1935, swapping the “S” in Sedrel for a “C,” as a nod to Cedar Rapids.
The site opened in the mid-1920s as a gas station and roadside café called Whips along the historic Lincoln Highway, before becoming a members-only supper club under Sedrel, offering such fare as shrimp, lobster and steaks. Illegal slot machines and prohibited sales of hard liquor are among the lore in its history, before it became a popular spot to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special events.
That’s where Booth’s mother, April Urell, entered the story, as a server at the supper club from age 19. When the owners decided to move, she bought the business in 2014, living on-site with her family to operate it. Her children helped with washing dishes before moving up to other tasks, she recalled.
“This is my livelihood,” Urell said, in between working on some of the 24 motel rooms that now provide Ced-Rel’s income. “That’s why I did this.”
A sign remains on the door of the Ced-Rel Supper Club, which closed after damage during Iowa’s 2020 derecho windstorm. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn, along with damage sustained to the building during Iowa’s 2020 derecho brought an end to the supper club, though the building still stands and Urell had been looking into starting a reception hall and researched listing the site on the National Register of Historic Places.
Those are among options for the Ced-Rel’s future that Urell and Booth have put on hold, as Alliant has sought to have the neighboring farmland rezoned for the Morgan Valley Energy Center.
“We’re not going to make that investment if there’s going to be a power plant,” Booth said.
Traffic rolls past a sign opposing Alliant’s proposed Morgan Valley power plant along Highway 30, west of Cedar Rapids, on Oct. 6, 2026. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
When asked if Alliant took the Ced-Rel’s historic nature into consideration when siting their proposed plant, Taylor Adams, senior communications specialist for Alliant, cited other factors.
Those include access to transmission, proximity to existing infrastructure, cost-effectiveness for customers, and community compatibility.
“For example, feedback from the Eastern Iowa Airport and Linn County setback requirements were important considerations that helped inform our site selection process,” Adams said in an email. “As for the property you are referring to, we are not involved in property acquisition conversations with the Ced Rel property owner at this time.”
Urell said Alliant had asked her to sign an agreement, but she declined, and eventually asked them to stop contacting her.
Due in part to the lack of housing with the rise of data center construction in the area, the Ced-Rel Motel is often full, keeping Urell and Booth busy, even as they worry about their future.
Vehicles begin filling the parking lot at the end of the work day on Oct. 6, 2026, at the Ced-Rel Motel. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
“It’s definitely scary if that goes through,” Booth said. “Iowa already has one of the highest cancer rates. That’s one of my main concerns. I don’t want to breathe that every day.”
Lighting and noise are also considerations for their motel customers, who often comment on the peace and tranquility they experience during their stays.
“They like it because it’s so quiet out here,” Booth said. “Even during construction, that’s going to get really bad.”
Booth said she would likely move out of state should the power plant be approved, while Urell might choose a different career, noting she would miss the people and the life she established as part of the long Ced-Rel legacy.
“We’d be able to see it from right here,” Booth said, looking at the neighboring cornfield waiting to be harvested next to a small apple orchard her family has tended since she was a child. “It’s absolutely gut-wrenching.”
More: See photos from a Save Morgan Valley demonstration outside of Alliant’s headquarters
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