Confluence Casino Defeated--For Now

Last year just about this time, I blogged about the threat to wildlife and tranquility near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. That post can be found here. This week there is some good news. The North County Casino was one of 4 finalists being considered on Tuesday by the Gaming Commission for a license that came available this summer. The developers asked for an extension because they said they didn't have all the financing in place. The Comission said "no." So now there are three. One of them is also on the Mississippi, south of Interstate 270 at the Chain of Rocks, and it too is an environmental threat and of concern to the drinking water supply of the City of St. Louis. (The other two proposals are in Cape Girardeau, which will hold a plebiscite on Nov. 2, and near Kansas City.)

The chair of the commission has said they may not award any license this round, and that would leave the door open for the North County Casino partners to try again. The land has been rezoned, and many area cities and school districts are pressing for "jobs" and "revenue." But for now, the folks who are more interested in migratory birds, wetlands preservation and the historic significance of this Lewis and Clark exploration site are warily cautious that better times are ahead.