The City of Baraboo agreed to support Sauk County’s opposition to the Ho-Chunk Nation taking land near their casino into tax-exempt status Monday evening, with the proviso that the interested parties should work on a mutually agreeable compromise. Controversy has been sparked among local government bodies after the Nation applied to the federal Bureau of Indian affairs to have 600 acres of land along Highway 12 and North Reedsburg Road given trust status. Schauf has estimated trust status for the properties would result in a loss of about $700,000 in taxes for the county, Baraboo School District, town of Delton and other governments.
