Lyon County, IA May Vote On Proposed Casino

a casino, while bringing lots of wealth to the area would ruin the life style many residents live there for. Once the casino is built, the comfortable country lifestyle, the friendliness of the people, the home town feeling will be gone. Business attracts business and in a short time a new business residential corridor will emerge from Sioux Falls to Larchwood. It will make many people rich (especially landowners, and business owners)) but leave in its wake a way of life gone forever. In its place will come traffic, smog, crime, and the hustle and bustle of bigger city life. The very thing people living and moving into the area are there to avoid. It boils down to a choice between greed and lifestyle.

The casino is most likely going to happen and Lyon County will vote to approve it. Rick, go ahead and think what you want, but you are wrong.

The proposed casino was on the news again tonight. I am saddened by the proposal because I am one of those that truly enjoys the country life. The new casino will be just a few miles from where I live; and because I live on the SD side I can just sit back and watch. I guess I can sell my place for hopefully a nice profit and relocate. Just when I thought I had a place to call home.

This casino is exactly what the area needs. There won't be smog and the crime won't go up any. Yes there will be more traffic but nothing like in Sioux Falls. I have grown up by communities with casinos my whole life and they have done nothing but good for the area. They supply huge amounts of money for the local schools and local emergency responders. This is going to benefit the people of South Dakota as well. This will probably trigger the east side of Sioux Falls development.

The unfortunate truth is that the damage done when a gambling enterprise invades an area is not easily seen. When a person is killed by a drunk driver the news story may not mention that the death was caused by a person who sat, drinking free drinks, for 3 hours at the casino. Nobody hears about the 3rd grader that goes to school in worn out jeans and holy shoes because mom has maxed out all the credit cards and continues to waste 100's each week due to her gambling addiction.

I don't know what kind of dream someone is having about casinos, but they are a major drain on any community, but they area able to sweeten how it is communicated. The 3-5% that they return to the community gets big publicity, but since the bankruptcies are private no one can keep track of them and blame the on the casino. Ours opened in '04 and the firemen have new trucks, but their businesses are being threatened and we have lost several small businesses. What a mess.

i understand some peoples concerns about the casino. but look at lyon county. it is dying and no one cares. all the young kids graduate from school and leave never to come back cause there is nothing here for them. hell the average age for rock rapids is 57. what is going to happen when these older people pass on. there will be no one left. then what? this casino will bring jobs for people that need it and it will sure pay better than 7.00 an hour. and just like everything it has its pros and cons. but dont be so negative about everything that is new. and i dont believe crime will go up any. i dont know of to many legal cases that involve some one stealing or shooting someone for money to go gamble. if people knew of all the crime that was going on now in the area they would be asking what do the cops do all day. and as for people with gambling addictions, well should we close all the bars because people become alcohlics or shut down the cig companies cause people get addicted to it. we dont bitch about all that do we. people dont understand all the money this will bring to the community. like helping with the high taxes in this county. hell i have a house that is 50 years old and my taxes are higher than people that have new houses which are double the size. and as for people with small business bitching about this is cause they know they will have to pay the employee a better wage instead of paying pennies and then pocketing all the extra and acting like they are broke. with this casino people wont have to bust there butts all week for barely making 300 a week. i know i work 2 jobs to support my family and it is tough. maybe if this casino passes i could get a job there and only have to work one job and then be able to see my wife and kids more. and i know there are alot of people like me out there. so people dont be so negative. look at both sides of the fence. not just the negative ones cause everything has them. and by the way, it is just not a casino they want to build it is also a resort. which would give a better area to put on some good shows and maybe draw some of the younger people back to the area. just think long and hard before you vote on this. cause i believe this is going to decide the future of this dying county. really think about it.