Menominee Nation hopes for shift on land-into-trust

Thursday, February 26, 2009  

The Menominee Nation of Wisconsin predicts President Barack Obama will rescind the controversial "guidance memorandum" that restricts off-reservation gaming.

The Bush administration issued the memo in January 2008 and used it to reject Menominee's proposed casino last month. But the tribe believes Obama will be making a change when it comes to land-into-trust.

“I think that what you see is the Obama administration looking at several last-minute decisions of the previous administration and seeing which ones deserve further review, and certainly that includes Kenosha,” casino spokesperson Evan Zeppos told The Kenosha Daily News. “And those are the kind of discussions we have been involved in and continue to be involved in.”

The tribe cited Obama's potential shift in a court case that challenges the memo. The Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss but a federal judge gave the tribe more time to respond in light of the change in administration.

The tribe wants to build an $800 million casino at a former racetrack in Kenosha.

Get the Story:
Obama administration eyes casino favorably (The Kenosha News 2/26)