Clay County commissioners Ezra Baer (left) and David Ebinger said very little is known at this point about the White Earth Band’s plans. (Photo/Tammy Finney.)

Dennis Beckerleg addresses the meeting at the American Legion to discuss the White Earth Band’s plans to establish a casino at the intersection of I-94 and Highway 336. To his right are Clay County commissioners Ezra Baer and David Ebinger, and Moorhead economic development consultant Derrick LaPoint. (Photo/ Tammy Finney.)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson & Tammy Finney

Two Clay County commissioners and a Moorhead economic development consultant met with about 30 members of the Moorhead American Legion post Monday for a preliminary discussion of the potential impact of a casino-hotel complex proposed here.
Called by Legion gaming manager Dennis Beckerleg, the discussion focused on the possible impact of a development at Interstate 94 and Highway 336 rumored to be considered by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. The purpose of the meeting with Moorhead’s Derrick LaPoint and Commissioners Ezra Baer and David Ebinger, according to Beckerleg, was to express opposition to the plan. Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson was expected, but could not attend due to an executive session of the Moorhead City Council the same night.

“We first heard about this six weeks ago,” Beckerleg said. “We don’t need it.” The gaming and convention facilities, he said, would pose threat to charitable gaming contributions by the Legion and VFW that support many Moorhead programs, from contributions to Honor Flight North Dakota/Minnesota and the Veterans Administration Hospital to youth sports programs, including Moorhead youth hockey, baseball and girls softball to the Legion Blues and Gold baseball team. The Legion has also pledged a quarter million dollars to the renovation of Matson Field.
“We can’t take the chance of losing all those tax dollars and charitable gaming proceeds,” he asserted. According to four Clay organizations’ 2024 annual reports, the Legion, VFW, Moorhead Youth Hockey Association and Dilworth Lions Club netted $4.3 million in gaming revenue and paid $1.2 million in state taxes plus property tax.
“The takeaway?” Beckerleg stated. “No casino!”
Ebinger and LaPoint emphasized that, at this time, virtually nothing is known for certain about White Earth’s plans. “Both the city and county will have to approve the necessary zoning changes,” Ebinger told the group. The project, he added, will require a long series of applications and approvals before it nears reality, providing plenty of opportunities to discuss its pros and cons.
Little is known about the proposal.
The White Earth Nation purchased the land at public auction on Oct. 30, 2024, for $3.9 million, far above its assessed value of $2.3 million. It has been rented out as farmland for the coming season.
The land lies outside Moorhead’s city limits in what’s now Glyndon Township. Annexation would be necessary to enable the infrastructure needed to provide utilities to the operation. Glyndon Township has already expressed its opposition.
According to LaPoint, the tribe has begun its due diligence for the project, which some speculate could also include a golf course and water park.
Larson said the county and city are anxious to learn more. The first meeting of White Earth officials is scheduled for the county commission’s April 15 meeting, when the tribe is expected to request a letter of support to the Bureau of Indian Affairs endorsing its transfer of the 280-acre parcel “into trust for tribal gaming and other purposes.”