"So what exactly is stipulated in the contract between the city of Duluth and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the 1986 deal that allowed downtown property to become Indian land and then the Fond du Luth Casino?

Can the band really, after all these years, stop sharing casino revenue with the city, as Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver said in a letter, because of “erroneous understandings” and because the city has “provided no consideration or compensable services?”

Those good questions, and many others, will be left for sharp legal minds and, likely, the courts to answer.

While they’re deciding, the 23-year-old deal can remain in place, unchanged and undeterred. No matter how anyone is interpreting contract language now, and despite anyone’s claims the deal is not as beneficial to one side or the other as maybe it could be, there’s little question of the original intent of the arrangement. Or that both sides have benefited — and continue to do so."

Get the Story:
Our view: Casino deal a boon to both city, band (The Duluth News Tribune 8/19)
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