Grand Forks Casino

Turtle Mountain Tribe plans public pitch

By Susanne Nadeau

Grand Forks Herald

      Turtle Mountain tribal leaders will pitch their Grand Forks casino concept directly to the public in a meeting next week.

      They'll try to convey the potential benefits of a tribal casino in the first of a series of public meetings intended to answer questions and get feedback on the community's reaction to the proposal. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Alerus Center.

      Ken W. Davis, Turtle Mountain tribal chairman, reiterated that the process is in very preliminary stages.

      "We're just trying to determine if this is a project that can be done," he said. "In doing some public meetings, we hope to address any questions or concerns the people have. It's important, with a project of this kind, to hold community meetings, to get out as much information as we can."

      Comments and questions from the audience will be taken after tribal leaders give a general presentation.

      Much of the information the tribe will present already was presented to the Grand Forks City Council in a meeting late last year, said Bill Johnson, a consultant who is working on the project.

      Meetings with other groups in the community, such as charitable gaming groups, will follow this initial meeting, Johnson added.