I ended my last post with the story of a Minneapolis liquor store that opened on March 12, the Sunday after Governor Dayton signed the bill to legalizing Sunday liquor sales effective July 2. The immediate penalty levied was a $2000 fine and a 30 day license suspension beginning July 2. Negotiations between the store owner and the city adjusted that penalty to a $6000 fine and a 10 day license suspension. The ten days were to be the first nine Sundays of legal liquor sales plus a Saturday of the owner's choosing. There were concerns that shutting down the store for 30 consecutive days could be crippling and if the store managed to stay in business, the closure would certainly penalize store workers; and not just the ones who carried out the store owners wishes by conducting business on March 12.
On Tuesday April 18, the Minneapolis City Council rejected the negotiated deal citing the store owner's behavior on March 12 when he kept his store open after calls from city and state officials followed by a visit from city officials directing him to close. Council members expressed a desire for a tougher penalty and gave city staffers a month to do so. To paraphrase the Dos Equis commercials, "Stay tuned, my friends..."
On Tuesday April 18, the Minneapolis City Council rejected the negotiated deal citing the store owner's behavior on March 12 when he kept his store open after calls from city and state officials followed by a visit from city officials directing him to close. Council members expressed a desire for a tougher penalty and gave city staffers a month to do so. To paraphrase the Dos Equis commercials, "Stay tuned, my friends..."
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