ONAMIA, Minn. (AP) — The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe plans to buy two hotels in St. Paul.

Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin made that announcement Tuesday in her annual State of the Band address.

The names of the two hotels were not released. Benjamin says once the purchases are finalized the Mille Lacs Band will own nearly half of the hotel rooms in St. Paul.

The Brainerd Dispatch reports Benjamin says the Mille Lacs Band has spent 20 years running hotels and learning the hospitality business.

Benjamin says the east-central Minnesota band had been working with Jim Graves, CEO of the Graves Hospitality Corp. and a recent candidate for Congress, on the hotel purchases, the Star Tribune reports.

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