Groundbreaking set for Monday for L.L. casino at Deer River

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 6, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will break ground on its Deer River Casino Monday, Tribal Chairman Eli Hunt announced Friday.

The noon ceremony will take place at the future casino site located west of Deer River at the intersection of U.S. Highway 2 and Minnesota Highway 46.

The band began negotiations with the city of Deer River in early September, and Hunt said the Leech Lake Tribal Council decided four to six weeks ago to proceed with the casino project.

Initially, the project hinged on whether the band could resolve three major questions, including whether to build its own sewer and water system, negotiating with three current residents on the land and completing an environmental impact survey for the project.

Hunt said Friday that most of the questions have been settled. The project did pass its environmental impact study, and the band has negotiated with the residents living on trust land at the site. The gaming complex, however, will have its own sewer and water system because the cost was too great to extend the city's services to the casino, Hunt added.

In August, the Leech Lake Band approved a $30 million casino expansion at its Northern Lights facility in Walker as well. But Hunt admitted Friday the Deer River casino, which wasn't planned for during the Northern Lights expansion referendum, probably will affect the size of the expanded Northern Lights.

The original proposal included not only a larger casino, but also a hotel, a restaurant and convention center with day care facilities and a recreational vehicle park.

"I'm not a marketing expert," Hunt said, "but we would likely (have to) downsize the scope of the operation at Northern Lights. There's no doubt (the Deer River Casino) will have an impact on the market and the labor force. About a third of our employees at Northern Lights live in the Deer River area."

The Deer River casino will be a one-story, 8,000-square-foot building on tribal trust land, adjacent to the city of Deer River. The building will hold slot machines, blackjack tables, a small gift shop, a snack bar and a 10-seat bar. It will accommodate 200 to 300 people.

Hunt said construction is estimated to cost about $1.5 million, with another $1.5 million needed for start-up, operating and equipment needs.

One of the casino's main purposes is to provide jobs for not only tribal members, but others in the Deer River area, Hunt said. The casino should hire about 115 people and offer salaries starting at $7 an hour.

The casino should employ two shifts of workers and be open about 16 hours a day.