This is an exert from WPRI report issued Sept 2012 Volume 25 no 5. Please visit WPRI to read full article Shullsburg is a community of about 1,200 located in Lafayette County. The county is in the southern tier of counties bordering Illinois, and Shullsburg is essentially on the border. Lafayette County has among the state’s lowest unemployment rates — approximately 5.8 percent in May (Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, 2012). Even so, Lafayette County and adjacent Grant County have some economic problems. They make up one of the 22 Wisconsin Community Development Zones. The Development Zone program is intended to stimulate economic development in areas suffering from economic hardship. The state has allocated $1 million to help improve employment opportunities and encourage private sector job creation in distressed areas. Lafayette County is also part of a Wisconsin Agricultural Development Zone. The agricultural zones are intended to foster development of agricultural businesses. Both programs provide job credits to employers for new positions created. One of the state’s earliest communities, Shullsburg has a rich history as a center of lead mining. It has historic charm, but as one resident said, “I don’t know if we’re going to survive with just our history. We need more for our businesses to stay open and make a profit” (Adams, 2012). Thus, the proposal by the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians to build a casino in Shullsburg was attractive to local officials. In 2004, the Lac du Flambeau Band bought almost 100 acres in Shullsburg and sought state and federal approval for a casino, a hotel and convention center, a water park, and an 18-hole golf course. Plans called for 1,700 slot machines in the casino. The president of the Shullsburg Common Council at the time said 87 percent of the residents who voted in an April 2003 referendum approved the casino project. “We’re excited to have this economic development opportunity,” he said (News from Indian Country (2002). The proposed casino project was rejected in 2008 by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs because it did not comply with the “within commutable distance” provision for siting Indian-owned casinos. Now that the provision has been lifted, the Lac du Flambeau tribe has resubmitted its application. According to the chairman of the Lac du Flambeau tribe, “Shullsburg will benefit . . . as tourists flock to the casino and visit the city’s downtown historical district, the Badger Mine and Museum, and the restaurants and gas stations” (Adams, 2012). Hope, of course, springs eternal, despite the existence of two casinos in Dubuque, Iowa, about a half hour away and the proposed casino in Beloit, about 65 miles away
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 04:21:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015