Share story

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The city of Council Bluffs is suing the federal government to stop a Native American tribe from building a casino just seven miles away in Carter Lake.

City attorney Richard Wade says in U.S. District Court documents that a Ponca Tribe of Nebraska casino would compete with state-licensed casinos in Council Bluffs and cut into millions of dollars in fees, taxes and charitable contributions that benefit the city’s residents.

The National Indian Gaming Commission and the U.S. Interior Department cleared the way for the tribe’s casino plan in November.

Wade claims in documents filed Wednesday that federal laws prohibit a casino on the tribe’s Carter Lake land.

The casino, to include 2,000 slot machines and a 150-room hotel, would create about 1,500 jobs.

A Ponca tribe spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a message.