BARAGA, MI-- Governor Rick Snyder has again refused to agree with a Keweenaw Bay Indian Community plan to develop the former Marquette County Airport site.
The Tribe sent a letter to Snyder last month outlining the KBIC’s intent to move its Chocolay Township casino to Negaunee Township and build a regional hospitality and entertainment complex. On April 22 Tribe President Warren Swartz received an email from Snyder’s lawyer. It said Snyder did not concur with the proposed development, but the lawyer indicated the governor may be interested in a “common agreement” that would benefit the Tribe, the state and citizens. The Tribe says the common agreement is only a series of demands for concessions by the KBIC in an attempt by the governor to sell his concurrence.
Governor Snyder initially refused in 2013 to concur with the Tribe’s plan to take the airport land into trust and move the Chocolay casino, even though the U.S. Department of the Interior determined the land should be taken into trust for gaming purposes.
