Kenosha City Council Approves Menominee Tribe’s Casino

The Menominee Indian Tribe’s Kenosha casino in Wisconsin is about to be constructed, and after the meeting of the Kenosha City Council, the agreement with the tribe is finally approved. 

The construction of the upcoming casino and hotel complex is expected to cost $350 million.

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The opposition:

However, not all council members voted in favour of the casino construction. Dave Mau, the Council’s Alderman, voted no, and his main reason for such a decision was the concern that the city would sanction the business venture. Kelly Mackay, also an Alderman, didn’t vote in favour of the casino because he isn’t fond of gambling overall. Alderwoman Holly Kangas supports the casino itself, but she isn’t satisfied with the speed at which the process is moving because the release follows the proposed deal in just one week. She said: “I have received calls from people that say they think this is not an open and transparent government. And that’s the last thing we would want to appear as.” 

Alderman Dan Prozanski also wasn’t sure about the final decision and has been thinking about Mayor John Antaramian’s proposal about the revenue share, as well as how this will affect the city. The mayor commented: “These funds would be able to be used for a number of different types of things that the council has asked for in the past.”

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Benefits of the new casino:

However, the city and the county will greatly benefit from the collaboration with Menominees since the estimated revenue will be from $12 to $15 million per year.

Gena Kakkak, the Chair of the Tribe, said: “To be good for Menominee, the project must be good for Kenosha. The Menominee believe that by working together, the City of Kenosha and the Menominee can both be successful.” 

The tribe is known as one of the poorest in the whole state, so the much-needed money will be used to expand a much-needed health clinic, launch various education initiatives, and modernize sawmills.

The Council is supposed to give its final approval on November 20, and the county board will discuss the deal next week.

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As WGDT reports, Kakkak hopes that the tribe will be able to submit all required paperwork to the Bureau of Indian Affairs this year, and the decision is expected six months from submission. 

But that’s not all – the approval of Governor Evers is still pending, and this is a reason to be concerned since former governor Scott Walker didn’t approve the casino in 2015.

If the proposal gets approved by all interested parties, it will be run by Hard Rock International, while the tribe will own it.

The new casino would be placed just west of Interstate 94, and it will occupy about 60 acres of land. It will feature a casino, hotel, and various restaurants, as well as theatre and music components.

As Kenosha News reports, 600 residents were questioned about the casino; 60% of them voted in favour of it, and 15% were against it.