Tribe Questions State Review Of Ho-Chunk Expansion

An American Indian tribe is questioning why Gov. Scott Walker’s administration isn’t applying the same criteria to a northern Wisconsin casino expansion as it has for previous proposals. A state spokesman said they’re not comparable situations.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans tribe argues Walker rejected the Menominee tribe’s Kenosha expansion after reviewing its impact but didn’t do the same for a Ho-Chunk Nation expansion underway in Wittenberg. The site is 17 miles from the Stockbridge-Munsee’s casino.

State Department of Administration spokesman Steven Michels said the Kenosha proposal concerned taking private land into trust while the Wittenberg expansion is governed by a 2003 compact agreement.

Legislators and other tribes have asked the state for further review.

The Stockbridge-Munsee has warned it intends to withhold $923,000 in payments over the dispute.