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Wisconsin Interest 35
races. It was not long before plans were in
place to open five dog tracks. They opened,
and they started to lose money. They never
recovered. One track opened in Hudson in
1991. Within a year, the owners of the St. Croix
Meadows Track began lobbying for slot
machines and other forms of casino gambling
in order to save their investment. Then, in
1992,
the state negotiated its casino compacts with
eleven tribes, after a federal court mandated
compacts according to the provisions of the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA).
Presto! An idea began to jell. In 1993 the
track owners approached three tribes and
suggested
that the tribes apply to have the track
land taken into trust as new reservation land.
The three tribes, all Lake Superior Bands of
Chippewas (Mole Lake, Red Cliff, and Lac
Courte Oreilles), made the appropriate
application
to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (B.I.A.).
While under such a scenario the governor
would specifically have to approve the opening
of a casino on the new reservation lands,
Governor Thompson made no definitive
determination
that he would block the project. The
application process did require that local
opinion
regarding the project be solicited, as well
as opinions concerning the impact on rival
casino operations on other reservations.
However, in 1995, after a B.I.A. report offered
no objections, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
denied the application. The three tribes and the
track owners cried “foul” as they pointed out
that President Clinton's campaign organization
had accepted donations from rival casino
tribes who did not want the Hudson casino.
Subsequently, the U.S. Attorney General
appointed a special prosecutor to investigate
Babbitt's actions. There was no finding that his
decision was influenced by political money,
but a 1999 settlement opened the case once
again for a new decision. The application was
renewed.
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