Recently two candidates opposed to the Star Lake casino in Dent, Minnesota won seats on the White Earth Nation tribal council. They defeated two incumbents who strongly supported the project. As a result, council members who have publicly opposed the project now hold a 4-1 majority on the council.
Leonard “Alan” Roy won the position of White Earth secretary-treasurer, defeating incumbent Tara Mason by a slim margin. An ally of Mason’s, Steven “Punky” Clark, lost to Ray Auginaush Sr. Another Mason ally, Kathy Goodwin, retained her seat, defeating Loan LaVoy.
Roy campaigned on the platform, “Defund Star Lake Casino.” He has questioned the Star Lake project and the financial impact the large capital investment would have on the tribe. Native American gambling “is now saturated in Minnesota,” he said.
Ty Dayton, spokesman for the anti-casino Star Lake Concerned Citizens Group, said, “SLCCG is happy with the results for Star Lake and the people of White Earth. Further, we are confident the new White Earth leadership’s decisions surrounding the proposed Star Lake expansion will support the SLCCG mission: protection of Star’s resources now and for future generations.”
Opponents have said they want to protect the natural beauty of Otter Tail County from the traffic, noise, pollution and social impacts of a casino complex that has been proposed for an isolated, rural area.
Mason and her allies first proposed the Star Lake casino in 2015, pitching it as a path to economic development and jobs. County officials supported the project as a possible tourist destination; the 270-acre venue would have included a convention center, hotel, resort, RV park and casino.
Ultimately, due to fierce opposition, the Otter Tail County board of commissioners required the tribe to conduct an expensive, in-depth environmental impact statement and charged the tribe $30,000 for a study to determine the size and scope of that impact statement. Recently the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which must issue the necessary federal permits, said the project appears to be on hold.
The White Earth Nation operates the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, with a smaller facility in Bagley.
