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Mennonite County to Join Casino Proposal

KANSAS – As reported by the The town of Hillsboro in central Kansas does not have a movie theater. It doesn't have a liquor store, though every now and again someone makes an attempt to reopen the mostly shuttered downtown bar. One of the city's two grocery stores sells beer now, but that's a recent development.

"Yet the mostly Mennonite residents of Hillsboro next month will join their neighbors from across Marion County in voting on an unexpected proposal: a 300-room resort casino expected to draw gamblers from around the Midwest.

"The idea has led to the creation of a countywide opposition group and a debate about how Marion County's morals intersect with its economy.

"…Marion County might seem an odd location for a casino, even without the large Mennonite population among its 13,000 residents. It sits an hour northeast of Wichita, but has no interstate highway to handle the tourists a resort would attract.

"But when Sedgwick County commissioners in August put off a referendum on building the proposed casino — which would be operated by the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska — in the Wichita suburb of Park City, other central Kansas communities saw an opportunity…"

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