Reznet

Minn. Tribe Lends $86 Million for Economic Development Projects

By Tessa Lehto

PRIOR LAKE, Minn.—The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announces $86 million in loans to two out-of-state Indian tribes and to one Minnesota tribe for economic development projects.

Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans

A $48 million loan will go to the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians in northern Wisconsin. The loan will fund construction and development of the Mohican North Star Casino located between Green Bay and Wausau. The casino currently has 1,225 slot machines, bingo, table games, two restaurants, and an RV Park. The loan will make possible construction of a 105-room hotel, administrative space, additional gaming space, and two restaurants, as well as pay off the casino's existing debt. Construction will take up to 18 months for completion and is expected to begin in the fall of 2009.

Tribal President Bob Chicks commented on the loan: "We are very grateful to the Shakopee Mdewakanton and their Business Council for offering its assistance to the Stockbridge Munsee. Our tribal members and our patrons really appreciate this. It is a very good thing when one tribe can help another."

The Stockbridge Munsee Band has 1,565 members, many of whom live on their 22,139-acre reservation. The Band employs 740 people and is the largest employer in Shawano County. The Band also operates a convenience store and gas station, Pine Hills Golf & Supper Club, a liquid propane company, and a Forestry Management Program.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

A $30 million loan was approved for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. The loan will be used for continued development of their Prairie Knights Casino & Resort, located 35 miles south of Bismarck/Mandan on the North Dakota side of the reservation.

The resort, which opened in 1993, currently contains a marina on the Missouri River, a hotel, two restaurants, and an RV Park. The casino and hotel will undergo construction for a 100-room addition to the hotel which will double its capacity; an indoor pool; 240 underground parking spaces; banquet and convention space; administrative offices; and laundry facilities. With the new laundry facility, the casino will no longer have to outsource laundry services. The Tribe anticipates breaking ground by September 2009, with construction expected to take about 18 months.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has 10,859 members and a reservation of 1.4 million acres which straddles the North and South Dakota borders. The Tribe currently operates the Prairie Knights Casino and Lodge, Prairie Knights Quik Mart, Grand River Casino and Resort, Standing Rock Farms, and Standing Rock Sand and Gravel. The district also operates businesses such as Bear Soldier Bingo, Big Foot Bingo in Little Eagle, and bingo operations in Cannon Ball, Fort Yates, and Porcupine which support their local districts. Bear Soldier has a grocery store; Cannon Ball has a convenience store/gas station; Bullhead has a trading post; and Little Eagle has a Laundromat. The Tribe also operates a Paleontology Field School, a Tourism Office, and a pre-school program.

"Prairie Knights is a very successful casino with excellent management, and they continue to set record profit numbers in 2009," said Scott Financial Corporation President Brad Scott, who coordinated the financing of this project. "Shakopee has done a great service to the tribal community by empowering them to enhance their economic development. With these loans Shakopee does an excellent job promoting and enhancing new employment. The Shakopee Community is a unique and qualified lender in this case because they understand better than anyone the business they are lending into: Indian gaming."

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians

The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians will receive an $8 million loan for construction of a new 47,000-square-foot administration building in August 2009. Funds for the project were committed before the previous administration building was completely destroyed in a fire July 20, 2009. The building housed the Tribe's administration and finance offices, its leasing, grant administration and language preservation program, planning, fuel assistance, IT, a registrar, and the tribal council chambers. A nearby, secondary tribal government building known as the DNR building, which houses the Tribal Council, the DNR and water quality, was not damaged by the fire.

The new Government and Community Services Facility in Nett Lake will be home to tribal government offices, a Community Center, and a Band member-owned Credit Union. The current tribal government offices were old, dilapidated, and very crowded. The Community Center is newer, but much too small to host most events. Funding for the project is coming from the following sources: $2.4 million in New Market Tax Credits; $2 million in grants from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community over fiscal years 2008 and 2009; an $8 million loan from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community; and $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant and loan program.

The Band's enrollment is just over 3,500 people on a reservation of 127,000 acres in northern Minnesota. The Band operates several successful enterprises, including Fortune Bay Resort Casino; the Wilderness Golf Course, PoweRain Manufacturing Inc; WELY End of the Road Radio Station; the Y-Store; Nett Lake Convenience store, and Bois Forte Wild Rice. The Band employs over 500 people, annually injecting more than $30 million into the economy of northern Minnesota.

Past Loans

In recent years the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has made loans to the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa ($3 million, 2006); the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe ($2.8 million, 1996; $3 million, 2009); Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe ($41.5 million, 2003); Oglala Sioux Tribe ($38 million, 2005); Omaha Tribe of Nebraska ($3 million, 2008); Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians ($31 million, 2008); Rosebud Sioux Tribe ($3 million, 2006); Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate ($32 million, 1998; $5 million, 2003; $17 million, 2005; $6 million, 2008; $8 million, 2009); and the Upper Sioux Community ($23 million, 2001).

For more information about the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe go to www.standingrock.org. For more information about the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, go to www.mohican.com. For more information about the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians, go to www.boisforte.com.

About the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

The SMSC utilizes its financial resources from gaming and non-gaming enterprises to pay for all of the internal infrastructure of the Tribe, including but not limited to roads, water and sewer systems, emergency services, and essential services to its Tribal members in education, health, and welfare. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has a charitable giving program which comes from a cultural and social tradition to assist those in need. Over the past 12 years the SMSC has donated more than $156 million to charitable organizations and Indian Tribes, including more than $14 million in fiscal year 2009.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, a federally recognized Indian Tribe in Minnesota, is the owner and operator of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Little Six Casino, Playworks, Dakotah! Sport and Fitness, The Meadows at Mystic Lake, and other enterprises on a reservation south of the Twin Cities.

Tessa Lehto is the Communications Specialist for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, Minn.