The Star Lake Casino, which the White Earth Nation of Vergas, Minnesota want to build in Vergas, continues to encounter delay after delay.
For one, support isn’t universal within the tribe. There are a shortage of potential workers and the project has environmental problems.
Ty Dayton, president of the Star Lake Concerned Citizens Group, was quoted by Inforum: “It’s far from a done deal. There are a number of steps that still need to be resolved. The Otter Tail county still needs to discuss this in front of the public, and there is the potential for county commissioners to escalate this from an environmental assessment worksheet to an environmental impact statement. If they don’t do that, they’re nuts,” he said.
The land the tribe wants to use is mostly wetland, Dayton claims. He calls it “a bog.” He claims the tribe is talking about sinking pylons 80 feet into Star Lake to build on.
The White Earn Tribe owns 15 acres of reservation land and another 225 acres that it plans to use for non-gaming elements of the development. It would have a casino with 850 slots, a conference center, indoor/outdoor pool and spa, dining and gift shop and 180 hotel rooms. Plus an RV center.
The bay abutting on the land is a breeding ground for pan fish and wildfowl. Dayton declares, “This is about as environmentally sensitive an area as you can get.”
In addition, the tribe is riven by disagreements, with some tribal members demanding a referendum on the casino.
Originally the tribe said the casino would be finished this year. Now, after being extended twice, the completion date is fall of 2018.
Development representatives initially said the facility would be completed
