Here, from LRB:
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Ogema Larry Romanelli made a surprise announcement at the tribe’s Fall Membership meeting shortly before 2 p.m. this afternoon. He announced that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has agreed to let the tribes’ petition to establish a casino proceed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for consideration.
Romanelli brought the Muskegon Casino task force members to the stage at the Makwa Endaat Entertainment Center as details of the announcement were told to the assembled tribal members. Romanelli thanked the task force and past and present members who contributed so much to the four year long effort. The announcement was officially released on the state side by Senator Geoff Hanson in Muskegon.
Tribal Council Speaker Virg Johnson, reacting to the announcement stated that, “We are ecstatic that Governor Snyder has made this move in support of consideration of our project in Muskegon. Our tribe is excited about the potential of our proposed resort to help the people of the Muskegon area and Fruitport in particular…an area hard hit by economic challenges over recent years.”
The Muskegon region is home to a large concentration of tribal citizens who, along with all units of government in the area, actively support the casino project.
Ogema Romanelli, revealed that he and task force members have been waiting to share the information for several days in order for Senator Hanson to make the official announcement. This approval by the Governor is the first step in a multi-step process of due diligence that’s required of the Secretarial Determination Process.
The proposed casino would be on the site of the old Great Lakes Downs race park just off of the intersection of I-96 and US31.
Turtle Talk 