Plans to build a casino resort on the shores of Star Lake at Otter Tail County, between Pelican Rapids and Dent, Minnesota Are put on hold by the White Earth Nation.
Elections for the position of secretary-treasurer held on the White Earth Reservation at June saw incumbent, Tara Mason, defeated by Alan Roy at a 1,134 to 1,082 vote.
“We’t got some new people”
“They put on hold plenty of our jobs moving right now so they can find out where the money is coming from, how the budgets are and what like that. There was a lot of currencies going out, so that they are just trying to learn if we have the currencies to proceed on some of these jobs. ”
Election worries :
The newspaper further noted that the close success by Auginaush over Clark has been the catalyst for a recount and an appeal, that has seen his standing remain in limbo.
Back in July, Wayne Johnson, District 2 Commissioner for Otter Tail County, said, “What I know was that there was an election at the White Earth Nation June 12. Both individuals who got elected to the council were vocally opposed to the Star Lake Casino. ”
Strategies for casino hotel announced:
Late at September 2015, the White Earth Nation announced plans to build the Shooting Star Casino and Resort on 14.7 acres of trust property east of Maplewood State Park, just east of Pelican Rapids. The casino was at the time projected to start in 2017. The Nation had purchased some 270 additional acres of property next to trust property to provide space for transport access, parking, and other infrastructure contained in the evolution.
Along with a gambling facility, the job would reportedly include a 180-room hotel, full-service bar and grill, restaurant, and a 10,000-square-foot conference center, 6,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor pool and spa area, gift shop, entertainment lounge, RV park, as many as 850 slot machines and other conveniences.
Opposition gets organized:
Among Otter Tail’s biggest lakes, Star Lake is inhabited by both yearlong and summer residents.
The job was met with intense resistance and served as the catalyst for the creation of Star Lake Concerned Citizens (SLCCG), a company comprised of a group of land owners who worry about the potential harm increased traffic will have on wetlands, as well as the character of the rural area comprised mostly of family-owned resorts and seasonal lake cottages.
According to the SLCCG site …
“SLCCG and our supporters are working diligently to ensure Star Lake and its associated watershed are protected today and for future generations. We believe that this parcel of property, which is mostly valuable wetlands on Star Lake, initially purchased for an wild rice camp, is absolutely inappropriate for the proposed commercial development. Our intention is to observe this proposed development on the sensitive South Arm wetlands be denied. ”
The company, that can be reinforced by the Star Lake Property Owners’ Association (SLPOA) Board and a lot of its associates, also feel that additional area lakes along with the residents in Dora, Star and Dead Lake Townships are adversely affected by the building of what is the third casino to function under the umbrella of their Shooting Star Casino, Hotel and Entertainment Company.
The White Earth nation’s other two gambling places comprise the Shooting Star Casino, Hotel and Entertainment at Mahnomen and Shooting Star Casino at Bagley, Minnesota, that opened in August 2016.
In mid-August last year, officials at Otter Tail County voted to have a closer look at the casino proposal through a full environmental impact statement to assess the undertaking ’s importance on Star Lake, nearby wetlands and the surrounding land.
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