MOORHEAD CITY COUNCIL

White Earth Nation casino proposal draws concerns about contaminating Buffalo Aquifer

Ingrid Harbo — Sat, 10 May 2025 10:15:00 GMT

MOORHEAD — A major but fragile source of Moorhead's water lies hidden beneath the ground east of the city: the Buffalo Aquifer.

A source of Moorhead’s drinking water, the aquifer has come up as a sticking point in the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's proposed resort-casino complex on land east of Moorhead, near the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 336. The 280-acre parcel sits atop the Buffalo Aquifer.

The tribe’s proposal includes a casino with an attached hotel and convention center, restaurants and parking. It also includes a possible truck stop and convenience store.

Leaders from the White Earth Nation brought their proposal to the Clay County Commission, Moorhead City Council and Dilworth City Council in recent weeks, asking for letters of support to bolster an application to put the land into trust. That would give the federal government the title to the land, holding it for the benefit of the tribe, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Designating the land as trust land would allow the tribe to conduct gaming operations there and make it exempt from state and local taxes and land use regulations.

Reasons for opposition to the proposal voiced at meetings have varied, from Clay County losing property taxes to potential strain on local law enforcement. Some opponents, along with local leaders, have voiced concerns about the Buffalo Aquifer, which was threatened by truck stops in the past.

White Earth Nation leaders were not available for an interview by publication time. However, Chairman Michael Fairbanks addressed environmental concerns as the tribe unveiled its proposal at the Clay County Commission meeting on April 22. The tribe does not intend to dirty or pollute anything, he said.

“We’re here to protect that water because we know how important it is,” Fairbanks said.

What is the Buffalo Aquifer?

An aquifer is an underground body of sand and gravel that allows for the storage of water, according to Marc Pritchard, water plant manager for Moorhead Public Service. Pritchard oversees operations at the plant, from the pumping of raw water through the treatment of it.

“Around here, it’s not exactly a common thing — northwest Minnesota doesn’t have great groundwater supplies,” Pritchard said.

The Buffalo Aquifer is a one-mile-wide, 32-mile-long strip of gravel, surrounded by densely packed clay that stretches from Wilkin County to northeast of Moorhead.

Surveys of the aquifer have found there are between 120 billion and 250 billion gallons of water in it, Pritchard said, with about 10% available to be drawn out.

“So we have, on paper, enough for about a 10-year, 1930s style drought out in that aquifer,” Pritchard said.

With that in mind, Moorhead Public Service uses surface water from the Red River as the primary water source for Moorhead, rather than the aquifer. Typically, Moorhead Public Service uses a mix of 20-25% groundwater to 75-80% surface water.

“The whole linchpin of that strategy was using as much surface water as possible so that the aquifer can adequately recharge, so on those not-so-rainy days, we have water supply for Moorhead and Dilworth,” Pritchard said.

Moorhead Public Service also draws groundwater from the Moorhead Aquifer, which sits beneath the water treatment plant. The ratio of groundwater to surface water shifts depending on surface water quality and drought conditions.

The Buffalo Aquifer is very close to the surface, making it extremely vulnerable to contamination. In spots, the aquifer is less than 15 feet beneath the ground, with some open pits at the surface, Pritchard said.

The White Earth land is near the center channel of the aquifer, where it recharges, Pritchard said. The recharge area is very close to Highway 336, he said.

“One of the gentlemen at one of the meetings over the past two weeks phrased it best, you know — the aquifer doesn’t recognize, nor does it care, where the road’s at,” Pritchard said. “It’s still under there, so it’s something we have to be very conscientious of.”

Truck stop contamination

The Buffalo Aquifer has been polluted before. In the 1990s, fuel leaks at two truck stops near the I-94 and Highway 336 junction led to costly cleanups of the area.

The first leak was in the early 1990s, when gasoline and diesel fuel from the Commercial East Truck Stop, formerly the Double D truck stop, contaminated soil around the stop and the Buffalo Aquifer under the stop. The truck stop had to close for cleanup.

On Dec. 15, 1994, The Forum reported the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency planned to spend around $1 million as it excavated soil at the site and treated it. Later, the land was tax-forfeited to the state of Minnesota.

News broke of another spill above the aquifer in August 1999. This time, it was at the Trucker’s Inn truck stop, just north of the previous leak at the same intersection.

On Aug. 20, 1999, The Forum reported that the underground leak was discovered when the truck stop was installing new fuel pumps. At the time, the MPCA did not think the leak posed an immediate threat to the aquifer. But on Nov. 30, 2000, The Forum reported that the MPCA was piloting a new petroleum extraction system to remove contamination from the aquifer.

In 2003, the Trucker’s Inn closed so its buildings could be demolished to speed up cleanup by allowing for more extensive excavation of contaminated soil.

In 2000, the Clay County Commission established a new zoning district ordinance to protect environmentally sensitive areas, like the land above the aquifer.

Around the same time, Moorhead Public Service and Clay County developed the first wellhead protection plan for the aquifer, Pritchard said. Together, the zoning ordinance and protection plan limit what the land can be used for, restricting things like hazardous substance storage in underground tanks, like fuel tanks for a gas station, on-site septic and private wells for commercial purposes.

“So, it’s all geared around protecting that shallow aquifer surface from various different types of contamination,” Pritchard said.

White Earth Nation’s proposal

When White Earth Nation leaders unveiled ideas for the casino-resort complex during the Clay County Commission meeting, commissioners asked about plans to preserve the aquifer and plans for water and sewer service to the stop.

Nate Mathews, executive director of the White Earth Nation Tribal Utility Commission, suggested the facility would have access to Moorhead water and sewer, rather than relying on wells and a buried septic field.

“I think those types of conversations of water and sewer access to the site will be forthcoming with them,” Mathews said.

White Earth leaders softened on the idea of a truck stop on the site at later meetings, instead pitching a convenience store with the possibility of it including a truck stop.

During the Moorhead City Council meeting on April 28, Mathews said studies would be conducted on whether the project would include a convenience store or truck stop.

“We talked about a truck stop, and maybe that’s a little premature to say that’s exactly what we would envision here, but that was identified because you realize there’s not much over on this side of town, so to speak, for rest areas,” he said.

]]>

Moorhead City Council hears White Earth Nation casino complex pitch

Ingrid Harbo — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 01:32:06 GMT

MOORHEAD — White Earth Tribe leaders pitched their plan to bring new jobs, lodging and an entertainment venue to the Moorhead area during the Moorhead City Council meeting Monday evening.

Leaders from the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe brought their proposal for a resort-casino complex on 280 acres of land east of Moorhead to the meeting on Monday, April 28. The tribe purchased the land near the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 336 late last year.

Mike LaRoque, secretary-treasurer of the White Earth Nation, said he chuckles when he hears rumors about how the property is going to be used. During the Clay County Commission meeting last week, tribal leaders unveiled plans for a combination casino, hotel and convention center on the land.

“But I think the sky’s the limit, actually, with this property, and we bought this property for economic development,” he said.

The White Earth Nation asked the Moorhead City Council for a letter of support to include in its application to designate the parcel as trust land for tribal gaming. That gives the federal government the title to the land, holding it for the benefit of a tribe or tribal members, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Then the White Earth Nation will be able to operate a casino on the site, even though it is off the White Earth Reservation.

Designating the property as trust land makes it tax-exempt. According to Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson, the White Earth Nation property will generate $15,100 in property tax this year. The property accounts for around 0.03% of property tax collected by the county, which totals around $50.6 million.

Council members did not take any action after the tribe’s presentation Monday.

The proposed casino would have a gaming floor between 90,000 and 100,000 square feet, with 900 to 1,200 slot machines and up to a dozen table games. The attached hotel would have between 250 and 300 rooms, and the convention center could span 100,000 to 120,000 square feet. The complex would also include fast food, fine dining areas and bars.

The tribe is also considering the possibility of a truck stop and convenience center on the land.

The land is currently in Glyndon Township, but is in an area expected to be annexed by the City of Moorhead in the future, in accordance with an orderly annexation agreement between the cities of Moorhead and Dilworth.

Council members asked about the timeline and process for the property to become trust land. White Earth Nation Land Acquisition Manager Jake Syverson said the process takes 18 to 24 months to complete as multiple federal agencies check off on the action. Just a portion of the total 280 acres of property could be designated as trust land.

Once the application is submitted, the Department of the Interior would notify surrounding local communities, Syverson said, so to be transparent, the tribe is reaching out to communities beforehand.

“We don’t necessarily need a letter of support, but it would be much appreciated,” he said.

Three area residents spoke about the tribe’s proposal during the meeting: two against it and one for it.

Ed Dorsett, a supervisor on the Glyndon Township Board, argued the casino will not provide economic benefits to Moorhead. He questioned whether the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen has benefited the residents of the town.

“The town itself is suffering, and I don’t think the casino is doing a single thing for the residents of it,” he said.

Zenas Baer, a lawyer in Clay County, spoke in support of the tribe. Baer said he represented the White Earth Nation in the 1990s and 2000s, but no longer does. He said he thought some of the criticism of the tribe was unwarranted.

“Don’t be frightened of dealing with the White Earth Band just because they are exercising the sovereignty they were given by Congress and supported by the United States Supreme Court,” he said.

Cannabis ordinance

Moorhead City Council members also passed a second reading of a cannabis sales ordinance Monday. The ordinance had one change since it came before the council for the first time two weeks earlier.

The ordinance introduces fees and registration standards for businesses selling cannabis products in Moorhead ahead of state cannabis licensing this spring and summer. It also imposes fines and sanctions for businesses operating without registering with the city, or those that violate registration requirements.

When first introduced to the council, the bill limited the hours for both cannabis retail sales and lower-potency hemp-derived THC sales to between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday. However, the updated ordinance separates the two product types and gives each its own operating hours.

In the updated ordinance, cannabis sales are limited to the hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day, but hemp-derived THC products can be sold from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday.

Council members unanimously approved the second reading of the ordinance.

]]>

Food forest to be planted in Moorhead park

Barry Amundson — Sun, 21 Feb 2021 20:35:22 GMT

MOORHEAD — An edible forest will be planted in Moorhead this spring.

City forester Trent Wise said the plan calls for the planting of about 100 apple, pear and plum trees and about 25 juneberry and chokeberry shrubs during Arbor Month on May 13 at MB Johnson Park in the northern part of the city. Wise said they hope to add apricot trees, too.

He told the Moorhead City Council the berries might be ready to be harvested in a year or two, and some fast-bearing fruit trees might be ready in volume in about five years.

The trees in what he said could also be called an orchard or forest garden will be purchased through a grant from the Bush Foundation. The forest will cost about $10,000, which also includes supplies.

The plantings will be watered once a week by the city forestry department for the first two years, with pruning taking place on a rotating basis every three years.

Wise said the plan created by the city's Community Resilience Task Force followed a community survey where 300 of about 350 respondents said they favored the idea of the orchard with about the same number saying they would use it.

Concerns raised by residents were maintenance and whether wildlife would damage the trees and shrubs.

Wise said his department would handle the watering, with public works caring for the mowing of the grounds. He added that minimal maintenance is expected.

To keep wildlife away from the trees, he said fencing will be used around the plantings as well as tree guards to keep rabbits and deer away. To keep voles away, he said they will mow grass every 20 to 30 days. Smaller mesh fencing around tree guards will be buried in the direct area, too, to keep the voles from burrowing under the trees. They also plan to cut the grass short in the orchard in the winter.

The forest is being planted on higher ground above any possible flood zones.

City Councilwoman Deb White said she had some problems with the location in the far northern end of the city, and she hoped more such orchards could be developed and be more centrally located.

Wise said this was a pilot project, and they hope to plant more of the orchards across the city to "enhance the ecosystem and make the city more food resilient."

Mayor Shelly Carlson said she hoped possible educational programs at the forest would also be offered as she had just planted two apple trees and would like to learn more about caring for them.

Wise said the fruit trees that will likely bear fruit in possibly three to six years will likely last 20 to 30 years, but those that take up to 8 to 10 years to bear fruit could last 75 to 80 years. He said some of both varieties are planned.

Fargo has an established orchard that was donated to the park district near the Red River and 76th Avenue South called Orchard Glen Park. That edible forest has cherry, pear, plum and apple trees and is also open to the public for harvesting.

]]>

Fair lending organization praises Moorhead's payday loan crackdown

Barry Amundson — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 14:00:00 GMT

MOORHEAD — Moorhead's pioneering city program of cracking down on payday loan lending was recognized Wednesday, Dec. 30, by Minnesotans for Fair Lending.

The group, primarily sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, met with City Council member Heidi Durand, who is leaving office this week, as well as with Mayor Johnathan Judd and newly elected State Rep. Heather Keeler to praise the city's effort. Moorhead dramatically lowered the payday loan interest rate from what Durand said averaged about 250% to 33% at Moorhead's two lenders.

"Moorhead is a model for what can be done," Durand said. "We're going to take it on the road."

She said several other Minnesota cities have been in contact to learn more about the city's program that is the first of its kind in the state.

Besides limiting the interest rate, the city's program restricts fees, limits the number of loans to two under $1,000 per year, requires repayment within 60 days and also calls for detailed itemizations of all charges as well as annual reports from the lenders to the city.

The program was passed by the City Council this past fall and caused the city's two lenders — Greenbacks at 819 30th Ave. S. and Peoples Small Loan Co. at 1208 Center Ave. — to close up shop.

A call to Greenbacks, which lists on its website that its hours are unknown but still has a phone number, wasn't returned on Wednesday. A sign for the company is still found outside the office building.

In a public hearing on the plan before it was adopted, Chris Laid and his brother, Nick, of Greenbacks Inc. were the only residents to offer opposition. They owned the business with their father, Vel.

Nick Laid wrote that if the law passed it would likely put them out of business and drive people to Fargo where there are higher interest rates.

"Many people who use short-term consumer loans already have limited credit access either due to poor credit, no credits, lack of collateral or lack of community support structures such as friends or family," Chris Laid added.

Durand, who has been studying and leading on the issue for years, said the lenders require a payment due within two weeks, or the charges go up immediately if the loan can't be paid off.

Many credit card companies survive on interest rates that are much lower than 33%, she said.

She said the Moorhead program is similar to North Dakota's state program, while Minnesota regulations aren't nearly as restrictive as the city's.

Minnesotans for Fair Lending is building a website and has a Facebook page where it calls the payday loans "predatory" that put borrowers into a debt trap with the triple-digit interest rates.

Durand has repeatedly praised the Exodus Lending nonprofit organization in Minnesota that has a 99% success rate of getting borrowers out of payday loan debt.

]]>

Minnesota's Heartland Trail aims to roll west, including new stretch from Moorhead to Hawley

David Olson — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 11:00:00 GMT

MOORHEAD — The Moorhead City Council recently gave its backing to efforts in the Minnesota Legislature to fund ongoing expansion of the Heartland Trail, a biking and walking trail that begins in Park Rapids and is slowly expanding westward toward Moorhead.

A bonding bill the Legislature will soon take up includes funding requests for developing a number of segments of the Heartland Trail between Park Rapids and Moorhead, including a stretch between Moorhead and Hawley.

The primary and most long-established segment of the Heartland Trail runs about 49 miles from Park Rapids eastward to about Cass Lake. That part of the trail uses mostly abandoned railroad beds that have been paved.

Plans to expand the trail from Park Rapids west to Moorhead involve a number of segments that are in various stages of planning and construction.

This year's bonding bill includes:

A request for $500,000 for preliminary engineering, final design and land acquisition for a proposed segment of the Heartland Trail between Moorhead and Hawley. A $500,000 request for preliminary engineering, final design and land acquisition for a segment of trail between Park Rapids and Osage. A $200,000 request for preliminary alignment design for a segment between Osage and Frazee and another stretch of proposed trail from Detroit Lakes to Hawley. A request for about $3 million that would fund ongoing construction of a segment of trail from Frazee to Detroit Lakes.

Dan Farnsworth, a transportation planner with the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments who has been helping local officials with the trail effort, said that while past bonding requests have not always been approved, there is optimism this time around that much of the funding being requested will be authorized.

He said the Heartland Trail expansion has been a long process that has tended to be patchy, with different parts of the plan moving faster than others.

One issue, he said, has been the hurdle posed by land acquisition.

Although the original stretch of the Heartland Trail between Park Rapids and Cass Lake used retired railroad beds, expanding the trail requires the purchase of private land and taking other approaches to extending the trail, including aligning it with existing roads and highways.

"We don't have the luxury of an abandoned railroad bed, and that is what is really the biggest challenge. We have to find other ways to route this trail," said Farnsworth, adding that when it comes to the proposed segment from Hawley to Moorhead, aligning parts of it next to U.S. Highway 10 is one possibility being explored.

Farnsworth said even if it takes years to ultimately connect Moorhead to Park Rapids, the patchwork progress of the Heartland Trail expansion can provide benefits for outdoor enthusiasts.

For example, he said, when the approximately 11-mile stretch of Heartland Trail between Frazee and Detroit Lakes is completed, it will allow residents of Frazee to get to Detroit Lakes and vice versa.

Likewise, he said, completing just the proposed stretch of trail between Moorhead and Hawley holds appeal for many.

"We'd be very happy to see that happen, even if it's not the full trail until way in the future," he said.

]]>

South Dakota backs out of Minnesota city's wild turkey relocation plan

Forum News Service — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:28:42 GMT

MOORHEAD, Minn. — A plan to relocate nuisance wild turkeys from this northwestern Minnesota city to South Dakota has taken a twist.

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks has apparently backed out of the partnership recently struck with the city of Moorhead, according to councilwoman Sara Watson Curry.

During its Monday, Feb. 11 council meeting, members approved relocating 75 turkeys to eastern South Dakota, which would have required a Minnesota DNR permit and wild turkey management plan.

Watson Curry said in an email sent Feb. 20 that South Dakota was concerned that the birds are "too urban, not 'wild' turkeys.' "

"So we are back to the drawing board," she said, adding that the council will be moving forward with the management plan.

The plan will provide an opportunity for residents to provide input and learn more about this topic, she said.

The Minnesota DNR shares on its website that nuisance animals, like turkeys, will interact more with humans as the population expands, naturally, and some of these interaction will be negative. Some birds — typically "jakes" or yearling males — can be aggressive and chase homeowners, pets and kids.

]]>