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.
Aug. 26, 1999
By Devlyn Brooks
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will vote Tuesday whether to expand the tribe's Northern Lights Casino in Walker.
In question is a proposed $30 million casino, hotel, restaurant and convention center with day-care facilities and a recreational vehicle park, according to Leech Lake Public Relations Director Judy Hanks.
At 60,000 square feet, the proposed facility would be three times larger than the current facility and the casino operation would about double to 1,000 slots and 16 gaming tables.
In addition, a 100-bed hotel, a 50-unit RV park, a day-care operation for patrons and a convention center serving 450 to 750 guests all would be added.
"The convention center is the highlight of the project," Hanks said Tuesday. "Walker has lost some major events because they don't have the facilities in town (to host conventions)."
She said with a new convention center, Walker could host events such as future Minnesota Governor's Fishing Openers and more lodging would exist for events such as the Eelpout Festival and Moondance Jam.
The tribe's current casino, located at the junction of state Highways 371 and 200 about four miles south of Walker, contains 460 slots and nine gaming tables.
It contains an employee daycare facility, but the service is not offered to patrons. And there is no hotel.
Admitting she is a proponent, Hanks says the facility would provide 200 more jobs, help to diversify the tribe's economy and provide a much needed service to the Walker area.
According to a feasibility study paid for by the tribe, Hanks said the area could support the new facility and that it would increase the tribe's revenue.
"I can't see what the negative downside would be," Hanks said. "We might as well capitalize on gaming right now."
The tribe sponsored forums addressing the proposed expansion in several reservation communities and in Minneapolis in the past few months. Hanks said she hasn't heard any negative feedback from those.
If the new casino is approved, two decisions would have to be made: how to use the current casino building and if the tribe would proceed with the new facility all at once or in phases.
It has been suggested the current building could be used as a retail center, Hanks said, possibly for a new business owned by tribal members.
Hanks said, according to the feasibility study, the project would succeed whether it be built in stages with the casino and convention center coming first, or it be built all at once.
Although the Leech Lake Tribal Council has the authority to have approved this project itself, Hanks said with $30 million at stake, the council wanted the band members to make the decision.
"That's why the Tribal Council should be credited for bringing a vote of this size to the people," she said.
Polling booths will be open in all three reservation districts, as well as in Minneapolis.
The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and any enrolled band member at least 18 years old is eligible to vote.
Hanks said the vote count won't be available until the day after the election.
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