Proposed casino project stirs emotions in Otter Tail County

DENT, MINN. — In this remote stretch of Otter Tail County, where cows outnumber people and mom-and-pop resorts dot the lakeshores, ambitious plans for a sparkling new casino and hotel are stirring up some of the locals.

Within the next two years, this largely rural area where water covers three-fourths of the countryside will be home to a casino development that promises to bring thousands of visitors and hundreds of workers to a locale where a no-stoplight town such as Dent, population 193, counts as a major city.

The proposed 270-acre complex, about 190 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, would be built on the shore of Star Lake, home to sensitive wildlife breeding grounds, cabins that have been in families for generations — and a private hunting club that's been a getaway for some of Minnesota's oldest-money families.

http://www.startribune.com/proposed-casino-project-stirs-emotions-in-otter-tail-county/395354401/