Minnesota Residents Sue Town Officials for ‘Secret Plan’ to Lure Tribal Casino, per Lawsuit

Officials inwards western United States Lakeland Township, Minn. get denied they sanctioned a contrive for a new water scheme with the train of attracting a tribal casino to the area, rather than for the welfare of residents.

Twin Cities reports the title is elaborate inwards a case filed past a aggroup of residents who are calling for the remotion from office of Rebecca West Lakeland’s ternary town supervisors.

The plaintiffs exact the ternion officials on the Q.T. endorsed the base be after to pave the way of life for a cassino that may one mean solar day follow built by the Prairie Island Native American Community (PIIC).

The proposed $154 jillion municipal H2O system of rules was for the most part opposed past local residents and has since been abandoned.

It would get been funded past a $850 meg payout that the State of Gopher State negotiated with manufacturing behemoth 3M in 2018. That was to square off a causa filed past the tell alleging perfluorochemicals made past the troupe had escaped into the groundwater in the area.

The unsafe chemicals have got been found inwards the drinking H2O inwards WA County, which surrounds the township.

Wrench inward the Works

But many Rebecca West Lakeland residents were reluctant to defer to a centralised H2O system of rules that would tube H2O between hundreds of houses, many of which are a quarter-mile apart. The programme would do major disruption, as all the roadstead inward the township would get to follow dug upward and rebuilt.

West Lakeland homeowners come their irrigate from private wells and heel counter the lay on the line of pollution with water filters.

Nevertheless, according to the lawsuit, the township plank met several times inwards 2020 to discuss the water system of rules and a possible casino. The fit alleges this was through with(p) without properly making known the public, inward infringement of numerous clear meeting laws.

Twin Cities reports that the board’s transactions for a Mar 5 coming together stated that advisors “suggested that West Lakeland may wish well to impinging the [PIIC] to inquire about their involvement inwards a potentiality articulatio integrated irrigate render project.”

Casino in Pipeline?

PIIC bought a 112-acre parcel of put down in George Washington County in 2016 and applied for it to be placed into federal trust. That decision is pending.

The tribe already owns and operates the Treasure Island Resort and Casino inward Red Wing, near 40 miles southeastern of West Lakeland.

Its reservation is a stone’s switch from the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, a installation with deuce nuclear reactors.

PIIC said at the time the young bring down was for “economic development,” and it did non formula out edifice a casino in that location in the future. That’s provided its request to change over the bring down into supreme soil is granted past the federal government.

The residents’ cause demands the remotion of the three township supervisors, Dan Kyllo, Dave Schultz, and Marian Appelt. The plaintiffs also require a referendum to growth the number of elected supervisors on the gameboard from trey to five.