Judge hears Michigan tribe's casino land case

Thursday, November 30, 2006  

A federal judge held a hearing Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging a Michigan tribe's land-into-trust application.

The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi, also known as the Gun Lake Band, wants 146 acres in Allegan County placed in trust. The land will be used for a 193,000-square-foot casino.

An anti-gaming group called Michigan Gambling Opposition filed the lawsuit. MichGO says the Bureau of Indian Affairs failed to complete an environmental impact study before it agreed to take the land into trust.

The BIA planned to acquire the land on January 5, 2007, but the lawsuit has pushed the date back to March 5. MichGO says it will appeal if it loses the case.

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Gun Lake casino decision goes to judge (Booth Newspapers 11/30)