BIA gives Michigan more time for KBIC off-reservation casino

Friday, December 21, 2012  

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is giving Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) more time to consider the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community off-reservation casino.

The BIA approved the casino plan in December 2011 under the two-part determination provisions of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The law gives the governor a year to take action but he requested a six-month extension.

"We want to make sure we're doing things in a thoughtful fashion. I want to make sure we're looking at all the tribal affairs through the same, thoughtful fashion," Snyder told The Iron Mountain Daily News.

The tribe wants to move the Ojibwa II Casino to a site in the same county. The new site is actually closer to tribal headquarters than the current facility.

The Ojibwa II Casino was the subject of a successful two-part determination back in 2000. Since the passage of IGRA in 1988, only three tribes have opened off-reservation casinos in the same manner.

Get the Story:
Extension granted for Marquette County casino (The Iron Mountain Daily News 12/21)