Land Acquisitions

Prairie Island Indian Community eyes trust status for new parcel

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

The Prairie Island Indian Community owns and operates the Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota. Photo from Facebook

The Prairie Island Indian Community of Minnesota has filed a land-into-trust application for a new site but there are no plans for a casino there.

The tribe purchased the 112 acres in West Lakeland Township, about 30 miles from the reservation. The goal is to ensure future generations have a place to live and grow without worrying about a nuclear waste facility next door.

"We have faced unique growth challenges at our reservation and deserve to have a safe and permanent homeland with adequate usable land for our community to expand," President Shelley Buck said in a press release.

Housing and economic development are being considered as options for the land. There are no plans for a casino but local officials are still discussing the possibility of one, The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Generally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act bars gaming on land placed in trust after 1988. So the tribe could face local and state opposition it if pursues a casino at the new site.

The tribe recently completed a $19 million expansion of the Treasure Island Resort and Casino.

Get the Story:
Prairie Island band might add casino near Lake Elmo (The Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal 7/5)
A casino near Lake Elmo? Latest move hints at possibility (The St. Paul Pioneer Press 7/2)
Tribe seeks trust status for land near Lake Elmo (AP 7/2)