MILWAUKEE – Readers of The Business Journal in Milwaukee overwhelmingly believe the federal government should approve the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s proposed Kenosha entertainment center and casino, according to a recent online poll by the newspaper. Results of the Business Journal’s “Business Pulse Survey” ran strongly in favor of the casino proposal, with 62 percent of respondents answering “yes” to the question, “Should the federal government approve a new Indian gaming casino in Kenosha?”
The Midwest regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs recently approved the Menominee Tribe’s plan, and the proposal is now before BIA officials in Washington, D.C. Survey respondents who posted comments to the paper’s Web site said the jobs and other major economic benefits the entertainment center would create are important reasons to approve the project. They also pointed out that Kenosha residents supported the project in two separate referendums, the most recent in November 2004.
“While not scientific, this Milwaukee-based poll demonstrates continued broad support for our project, the thousands of good-paying jobs it will bring to Southeastern Wisconsin and the billion-dollar benefits it holds for local governments, schools and the state,” said Menominee Tribal Chair Lisa Waukau. “As our proposal continues to make slow and steady progress in Washington, we are grateful that local support for our effort remains so high.”
Posted comments from survey respondents included the following:
· “The casino will create new jobs and bring in tourism to Wisconsin.”
· “Citizens of Kenosha have approved it twice and they should be allowed to have a casino. It would be good for the area and the Menominee.”
· “If the Potawatomi are allowed to operate a gaming facility in downtown Milwaukee, and the citizens of Kenosha approve (which they have), I see no reason why the Menominee Tribe should not be allowed to operate a similar casino in Kenosha.”
· “Absolutely! The Menominee tribe needs the economic support, Southeast Wisconsin needs the jobs, the state needs the money and the Potawatomi need the competition!”
· “This should have been approved a long time ago – the voters approved it twice. Potawatomi has an off-reservation casino, why can’t the poorest tribe in the state have one?
· “This project would add a megadose of energy to continue and expand development in the I-90/Pleasant Prairie/Kenosha corridor. The location and timing are perfect. Everybody wins!”
· “The Menominee Indian Tribe, one of the poorest tribes, will benefit and provide healthcare, social services and education for its members. And in true win-win fashion, the area gets a needed economic boost through jobs and increased tax revenue. The people voted, and now it’s time for the government to listen to the people!”
“We are grateful to everyone who took the time to vote in this poll and communicate their steadfast support for our plans in Kenosha,” Waukau said.
With more than 8,100 members, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is one of the state’s largest Indian tribes and also one of its poorest. The Tribe, which was terminated by Congress in 1954 and restored in 1973, is still struggling financially to overcome that devastating period in its history.
In order to provide for the significant health care, educational and other needs of its members, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin announced plans to build an $808 million entertainment center and casino at Kenosha’s Dairyland Greyhound Park in January 2004. Economic analyses show the project would create more than 3,000 jobs and pay state and local government over $2 billion – more than any other Indian tribe or Wisconsin business – over the facility’s first 25 years of operation.
