Editorial: Good news and bad news on off-reservation casino


Artist's rendering of the proposed Menominee Nation off-reservation casino. Image from Casino Kenosha

Newspaper worries that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) will ask for an extension on the Menominee Nation off-reservation casino:
There was good news and bad news from Gov. Scott Walker’s point man on casino issues Tuesday.

The good news from Mike Huebsch, secretary of the Department of Administration, who met with the Kenosha News Editorial Board, was that his department is hiring its own consultants to assess the economic impact of the casino. That means the state officials won’t have to simply weigh the relative merits of economic analyses done by the Menominee Tribe or the Potawatomi Tribe, neither of which is in a position to be objective. The Menominee have incentives to emphasize the positive impact of their proposal for Kenosha, while the Potawatomi, who operate a casino in Milwaukee, have incentives to emphasize the negative impact a new casino in Kenosha would have on their operations.

The bad news from Secretary Huebsch was that the decision is likely to take a long time. The normal time for a governor to make a decision is one year from the time the Bureau of Indian Affairs approves a project. That would make the deadline Aug 23, 2014. Huebsch said, however, that he is recommending that the governor seek a six month extension, even if all that extra time is not needed.

Get the Story:
Editorial: Good news, bad news on the casino (The Kenosha News 2/6)

Also Today
Menominee tribe says it continues to work with Walker administration on Kenosha casino (The Milwaukee Business Journal 2/5)

Bureau of Indian Affairs Documents:
Press Release | Fact Sheet: Menominee Nation Decision | Section 20 Determination: Menominee Nation Off-Reservation Casino

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