Star Lake Mn Casino Plans

There were extensive plans to create a casino resort on Star Lake in Minnesota. However, after three years and more than $7m (£5.4m) invested in the project, it appears to be dead in the water. Background of the project. In September 2015, the White Earth Nation announced plans to create the Shooting Star Casino and Resort. The proposed 270-acre complex, about 190 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, was planned for the shore of Star Lake, home to wild rice beds, wildlife breeding grounds and cabins that have been in. The Proposal The White Earth Band’s plans were to build a new casino on Star Lake west of Dent, Minnesota. Named Star Lake Casino, the site would have more than a mile of lake frontage and would have been a smaller sister casino to the Shooting Star Casinos in Bagley and Mahnomen. The 270-acre complex is proposed for the shore of Star Lake, home to sensitive wildlife breeding grounds, cabins in families for generations and a private hunting club used by some of Minnesota's. DENT — White Earth Nation will begin construction of a casino on Star Lake near Dent in 2016 with a projected opening in 2017, according to Shooting Star Casino. Ads are being blocked by your.

After three years of painstaking planning, the White Earth Nation has canceled its plans for a casino, event center, and hotel in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. The 270-acre plans, around 190 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, would have been on the shore of Star Lake, trust land of the tribe’s. The Chippewa nation announced that the reason for the canceled plans is due to the rescinded authorization from its business committee. The project had lots of opponents, mostly residents worried about environmental damage, traffic, and noise.

The Star Lake area where the casino had been planned is home to wildlife breeding grounds, wild rice beds, and cabins that have been held in families for many generations.

The Proposal

The White Earth Band’s plans were to build a new casino on Star Lake west of Dent, Minnesota. Named Star Lake Casino, the site would have more than a mile of lake frontage and would have been a smaller sister casino to the Shooting Star Casinos in Bagley and Mahnomen.

The White Earth Chippewa Band’s plans to build a third casino (Star Lake Casino) were canceled due to a 4-0 vote of the tribe’s Business Casino.

Otter Tail County

Otter Trail County has over 100 mom-and-pop resorts, and the casino project would have been completely unlike what residents and visitors are used to. The project would have had 180 hotel rooms, a full-service spa, an RV park, and a convention center big enough to host gatherings of 400 participants in addition to 850 slot machines.

Opponents of the project sent over 400 pages of letters and emails to the county’s Board of Commissioners. One specific letter from a resident in Fergus Falls, Mark Oyloe, wrote,

“I would suggest that anyone who thinks the transportation infrastructure is adequate for the proposed project take a drive from Pelican Rapids to Dent on [State Hwy.] 108 on a dark, cloudy night.”

Another opponent, who identified herself as a White Earth tribal member, Pam Fairbanks, said,

“Our Reservation is in need of anything but another casino.”

White Earth Indian Reservation

The White Earth Indian Reservation is the home for the White Earth Band in northwestern Minnesota. The largest Indian reservation in Minnesota by land area, the reservation is about 225 miles from Minneapolis-St. Paul and about 65 miles from Fargo-Moorhead.

White Earth Nation Casinos in Minnesota

There are currently 20 casinos, racetracks, and poker rooms in operation in Minnesota, two of which are operated by the White Earth Nation. The newest, Shooting Star Casino near Bagley, is on the northeastern side of the reservation. It features 170 slot machines and an eatery in its 21,400 square-foot facility. It opened in August 2016.

The original Shooting Star, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016, is in Mahnomen, on the western edge of the reservation. Much larger and with more features than the newest casino near Bagley, this one has close to 30,000 square feet of event/meeting space, Las Vegas-style gaming tables, and hosts live shows for big-name concerts.

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It can be frustrating for all parties when a project comes close to fruition only to be closed. There were extensive plans to create a casino resort on Star Lake in Minnesota. However, after three years and more than $7m (£5.4m) invested in the project, it appears to be dead in the water.

Background of the project

In September 2015, the White Earth Nation announced plans to create the Shooting Star Casino and Resort. It was to be built using 14.7 acres of designated trust land on the eastern side of the Maplewood State Park, which is not far from Pelicans Rapids.

The tribe planned to have the resort up and running by 2017. It purchased more than 270 acres of land adjacent to the primary site to be used for the various elements of the development, as well as for parking and transportation access.

Along with the gambling center, there would have been a hotel with 180 rooms, a restaurant and bar, large conference area, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, spa, entertainment area, facilities for RVs, and more than 840 slot machines.

There was a lot of opposition to this proposed project as soon as the plans were made public. Star Lake is one of the biggest lakes in the area, and it is a popular destination throughout the year, but especially during the summer.

The Star Lake Concerned Citizens Group (SLCCG) was created. It was made up of those who owned property in the area and were concerned by the increased levels of traffic that would lead to the wetlands and compromise this rural area. They staunchly opposed any plans to build a casino resort in the area.

The White Earth Nation operates two other gambling centers, in Bagley and Mahnomen, Minnesota.

What is the current status?

Otter Tail County decided in August 2017 to have the casino proposal subjected to a complete environmental impact statement.

After that decision, it was nearly an entire year before anything else was heard about this matter. The permit for the project had been withdrawn and it and it looked as if the tribe was waiting for an important election in June 2018 to decide what approach to take.

As a result of the election, a new secretary-treasurer and representative took office at the White Earth Reservation. As a result, the casino project being put on hold while the newly elected officials looked at the budget to see if the tribe had the resources needed to continue with the project.

It is believed that those who were newly elected had previously been opposed to the idea of the Star Lake Casino.

The project was officially closed at the end of August after three years following a vote by the White Earth tribal council. Facing so much local opposition, as well as internal opposition to the plans, it may have been doomed from the start.

Star Lake Casino

Many members of the tribe had been concerned about the environmental impact of a project on the surrounding lands and on the lake itself. There have also been recent indications that Native American tribes are seeing decreasing gambling revenues.

Star Lake Mn Casino Plans Map

This could be because of sports betting legalization and the fact that many other states have softened their gambling laws, allowing non-tribal operators to enter into the space, which often ends tribal monopolies. This proposed new casino could have ruined the tribe financially if it was not successful.

The tribe has already spent more than $7m (£5.4m) on this project. The money was used for buying land and for the various fees associated with planning and protecting the region’s environment.

Star Lake Mn Casino Plans List

While some may see this as a massive waste of money, the tribe might have gone on to sink tens of millions of dollars in the casino resort without being guaranteed success.