The White Earth Nation held elections in June and the outcomes are affecting the progress of the tribe’s proposed Star Lake Casino in Otter Tail County, Minnesota. Acting Chief Executive Officer Ron Valiant said, “We’ve got some new people. They put on hold a lot of our projects going on right now so they can figure out where the money is coming from, how the budgets are and everything like that. There was a lot of monies going out, so they are just trying to find out if we have the monies to move forward on some of these projects.”
Otter Tail County District 2 Commissioner Wayne Johnson added, “The two people who got elected to the council were vocally opposed to the Star Lake Casino.”
In fall 2015, the White Earth Nation announced plans for a casino, hotel and convention center on 14.7 acres of land held in trust by the federal government. The tribe purchased an additional 270 acres of land adjacent to the trust land for a parking lot, an RV park and other amenities.
The Star Lake Concerned Citizens Group was formed to oppose the casino. According to the group’s website, their concerns include water and noise pollution, potentially harming the lake’s aquatic population and straining law enforcement services and traffic routes.
Raymond Auginaush Sr. defeated Steven Clark by only four votes, resulting in a recount and an appeal.
