MPR: Mayor of Minneapolis a reluctant convert to gaming

Friday, October 28, 2011  

"Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak has rolled out the most extensive plan to date for keeping the Minnesota Vikings in his city.

It looks a lot like the plan he and city council president Barb Johnson rolled out in May, with a key difference: Rybak tacked a Block E casino onto the idea.

He says he wants a .35 percent sales tax and a one percent hotel tax for a contribution up to $300 million for a Vikings stadium, and another $150 million for the city-owned Target Center.

But he'd also like to take a 5 percent cut of the Hennepin Avenue casino proposed by developer Bob Lux. (That percent would drop to 3 in 2020, after some of Minneapolis' other debt is retired.)

Rybak talked like a reluctant convert to gambling expansion, but a convert he appears to be, if this account of a 2009 legislative fundraiser during his erstwhile gubernatorial campaign is accurate. "

Get the Story:
Capitol View: Betting on the Vikings (Minnesota Public Radio 10/28)

Blog Post:
Rybak on Indian issues, Vikings stadium (Northwood Politics January 1, 2010)

Related Stories:
MPR: Minnesota tribes face another threat to casino empire (10/19)