Star Tribune
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe changes gambling rules, pushing charities out of the equation
WALKER, MINN. – Recent changes to charitable gambling on the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation have upset the pulltab basket.
Nine nonprofits relying on pulltab revenue to fund everything from youth hockey to volunteer fire departments stand to lose tens of thousands of dollars because they may no longer be allowed to operate in bars on the reservation. The band controls all charitable gambling in a new system that allows bars to offer gambling, pushing charities out of the equation.
Under the state’s system, nonprofits must conduct all charitable gambling, paying the bar 20% and a sliding scale to the state up to 35%. Under the band’s ordinance, bars keep up to 35% and the band gets no less than 60%. The state gets nothing — neither do charities.
Rollout of Leech Lake’s new system, which it says will promote tribal economic development and self-sufficiency, has been causing angst and confusion. Notification letters sent to bars said existing pulltab sales violate the band’s gaming ordinance and bars must obtain a license through the band, which can take four months. In order to get one, bars must operate electronic bingo slot machines or regularly offer electronic bingo games. Subsequent letters with a Nov. 1 deadline said to end sales immediately. Now the band wants voluntary compliance. It’s also voluntary for bars to support a charity, but not a requirement.
“That doesn’t mean we’re excluding the charities or banning the charities,” said Leonard Fineday, the band’s secretary and treasurer.
But that’s not how Allied Charities of Minnesota, a St. Paul nonprofit that serves charitable gambling organizations, sees it. Rachel Jenner, the executive director, has called the change “catastrophic.”
“You’ve now cut the charity out,” Jenner said.
A man died Friday after police say a suspect stabbed him during a fight in St. Paul’s West Seventh neighborhood.
St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster said the fight happened sometime before 5:23 p.m. Friday when officers were called to the 200 block of East 7th Street. They arrived and found a man bleeding in a gas station parking lot from “apparent stab related injuries.”
Fire department medics responded and brought him to Region’s Hospital, but the man died from his injuries. His death marks the 22nd homicide in St. Paull this year, according a Star Tribune database. There were 27 by this time last year.
The suspect in Friday’s stabbing stayed at the scene where authorities brought them into custody. Investigators are still piecing together what happened, but Enster said early reports suggest the suspect and victim fought in a nearby store when the stabbing happened.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner is expected to release the victim’s name and exact cause of death by next week.
Minnesota’s recent slate of progressive policies have become fodder for the presidential campaign, as Gov. Tim Walz touts what he terms family-friendly programs, and Republicans and the state’s largest business groups call for another look.
Since Vice President Kamala Harris named Walz her running mate, the Democratic campaign has called for national implementation of some of the policies passed in Minnesota’s 2023 legislative session, including an expanded child tax credit, paid leave and free meals at school.
“I’m really grateful Governor Walz has been able to elevate this issue on a national stage,” said Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, who carried the school meals bill in the House. “I hear regularly from colleagues across the country in other statehouses about how they can do that in their state.”
Walz also campaigns on paid family and medical leave and the state’s expanded child tax credit, bringing them up in the vice presidential debate and in subsequent television appearances.
During the pandemic, federal relief funds temporarily expanded the child tax credit and gave all public school students free meals at school through the end of the 2021-22 school year.
Minnesota is one of the states where legislatures voted to continue both programs by using state funding after the pandemic funds lapsed. Minnesota expanded the state child tax credit for lower-income families to partly cover the extra money that had come through the federal credit, and extended the free school meals program with state funding. Minnesota also became one of 22 states with a form of paid family and medical leave, though the program will not take effect until 2026.
The cost of living has been central to both presidential campaigns, with both Harris and former President Donald Trump saying they want to lower costs, especially for families. During the vice presidential debate, both Walz and Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, said they supported expanding the child tax credit.
Throughout the campaign, Walz has pointed to universal free school meals and Minnesota’s expanded child tax credit as policies that have made it more affordable to raise children, as well as touting the paid leave program.
“It’s right on the river, it’s got a bunch of bars, it’s small and quaint and old. … People have been flocking to Stillwater for the summertime since I’ve been alive,” said Haumschild, a 1999 graduate of Stillwater High School who lives in Maple Grove. On return trips to visit his mother, he always finds something new, he said.
Julie Gordon said she loves her life in Stillwater, even though she lives close enough to downtown to sometimes hear the rumble of motorcycles or — once in a while — the live music. She likes that the city is within walking distance from her home, yet it’s easy to get to nature nearby.
She once worked on a TV series that roamed the country looking at dying small towns. Stillwater would be the envy of many of those places, she said.
“If you want to go to a restaurant when it’s not busy, you go Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, or Sunday night,” Gordon said. “There’s still options to live in this community and have access to the downtown.”
