Bismarck, N.D. – Despite the failure of a North Dakota Senate bill that would have allowed for the creation of a new casino in Grand Forks County, the lawmaker behind the effort is looking to the opposite legislative chamber to keep it alive.
Republican State Senator Scott Meyer of Grand Forks tells Flag Family Media that the measure has now been converted into a draft amendment that could be attached to a state House bill that has yet to be passed.
Meyer says Republican State Representative Emily O’Brien of Grand Forks is taking the lead.
While the amendment doesn’t include everything in the original bill, Meyer says it’s simply “enabling language” to keep the conversation open.
“The passage of this wouldn’t give a casino to Grand Forks,” Meyer told Flag Family Media at the State Capitol in Bismarck. “It just allows us to continue going forward.”
The amendment would basically lay out the next steps for the Turtle Mountain Band of the Chippewa.
The tribe would have to meet with Governor Kelly Armstrong and the U.S. Department of the Interior to make their legal case for the project, which is estimated to be as high as $300 million.
The tribe needs additional permissions to build and operate the casino since the land, which is just west of Interstate 95, lies outside the tribe’s traditional boundaries.
