Editorial: Minnesota plan not good for tribes

Wednesday, February 9, 2005  

"A recent Star Tribune poll gave Gov. Tim Pawlenty a needed boost to build a metro-area casino and tap into American Indian tribes’ gambling revenues. The poll showed more than 60 percent of those polled support both initiatives.

Public support might bring Pawlenty’s plan one step closer to reality, but it shouldn’t fool anyone into thinking the plan is good for Minnesota’s sizable American Indian population. The state’s American Indian tribes are on the losing end of a plan whose only saving grace is its political popularity. Under the proposal, the state would take in a one-time licensing fee of $200 million and annual revenue of approximately $114 million from a metro-area casino jointly owned by the state and participating tribes."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Gambling with a people's future (The Minnesota Daily 2/8)