Public hearing about Howard Lake liquor store draws crowd

HOWARD LAKE, MN – The Howard Lake City Council closed its regular council meeting Tuesday for some time while it opened up discussion about the municipal liquor store losses.
The state mandates that if a municipal liquor store experiences losses two years out of three, a public hearing must take place to obtain public input on the matter.
Last year, the liquor store recorded a total loss of $79,283, and this year, as of September 30, the liquor store has lost $38,516.
More than a dozen citizens were present for the hearing, and many of them voiced their opinions, as well as asked questions.
Some of the discussion centered around sales and losses of the on-sale versus the off-sale sides of the store.
City resident Shelly Reddeman told the council that he thinks the liquor store shouldn’t have stopped accepting personal checks, especially from local people.
Reddeman said that he has heard from many people around town that they are unhappy about this change, and that they no longer patronize the store because of it.
DeMarais disagreed, and said that he hasn’t noticed any drop in sales since the change took place.
Howard Lake resident Jim Ittel mentioned that parking may still be a factor, and that when businesses across the street from the liquor store had parking out front, that some foot traffic would cross the street and patronize the liquor store.
Regarding any future changes at the liquor store to address losses in profit, the council said that the liquor store committee is still trying to come up with a plan, which may include cutting some hours of the on-sale side of the business.
Those changes, once approved, will not take place until after the first of the year.

More details of the discussion will be in Monday’s Herald Journal.