Cedar Rapids has fulfilled a decades-old dream, buying a downtown cooling-water pond from Alliant Energy to set up a new recreation area with a signature bridge and facilities for kayaking, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported. Cedar Lake has faced water-quality questions for years, but state environmental officials consider it safe to use. The city paid $1 for the lake and assumed any environmental risk from the pond, which was part of a power plant operation. The lake and planned Smokestack pedestrian bridge are part of the $20 million ConnectCR initiative to improve the area for fishing, paddling and other uses.