Glen Strandberg
Staff Reporter

Issues both old and new continue to swirl around the proposed harness racing track and card room in Columbus Township.

On Tuesday, June 6, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court decision stating that the Minnesota Racing Commission did not violate state open meeting laws in November of 2004, when it voted to reconsider granting a racing license to the North Metro Harness Initiative.

The original lawsuit was filed by the Columbus Concerned Citizens which is hoping to prevent the development of the $47 million project that would be located just south of CR-23 and east of I-35.

ófrom Page 1

Don Steinke heads the CCC and opposes the harness track because of the plans to include a card room.

ìIf this were a harness track, and thatís all it was, I believe that it probably would be built by now, and there would be no opposition,î he said.

Steinke claims that the North Metro Harness Initiative is actually focused on developing the project into a casino, and thatís where the CCC has problems with the proposal.

ìWe do not feel that a gambling facility is what is needed in the Forest Lake area. Pure and simple. Especially one that is disguised as a harness track,î he said.

Tom Fox, president of Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp., a 50 percent partner in the North Metro Harness Initiative, disagreed with Steinkeís comments.

ìThat is absolutely not true. We have only pursued developing the race track and card room at this point in time. Our goal is to bring back harness racing to Minnesota.î

The CCC has requested that the state Supreme Court review the findings of the Appeals Court. They want the commissionís decision to be declared invalid.

More Obstacles

While the Minnesota Court of Appeals decision keeps the harness track moving forward for the developers, they will also have to wait before they can begin construction.

Even though the discovery of remains of a prehistoric Indian village on the site were reported last week, the matter was not news to the parties involved.

In response to a newspaper article, the North Metro Harness Initiative released a statement, which reads in part:

ìNorth Metro Harness Initiative has been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Officer to identify and recover artifacts from its harness track site that may provide data about how the site was used in the past by Native Americans.î

Jim Druck, CEO of Southwest Casino and Hotel Corp., said the issue was not a concern, and state archaeologist Scott Anfinson agreed with Druckís claim.

ìWeíve know about it for a couple of years now,î Anfinson said. ìThis is an old issue to the Corps of Engineers and the State Historic Preservation Office. Itís just news to people who read about it in the paper.î

The statement from North Metro Harness Initiative went on to say: ìWe expect the on-site recovery work to be completed this summer. We do not believe that the completion of this work will affect the construction schedule for the harness track or materially affect the overall cost of the project.î

Top of Page

Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605