News from Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association

Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(June 5, 2011 - June 11, 2011)

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As we all have been patiently waiting, summer is finally here.

My store is in a location where the flux of business is really noticeable during the summer months. It is hard to prepare and staff for such changes if you are not willing to think out of the box.

For approximately the past 8-9 years I have been hiring seasonal part-time employees to help out in the summer. They are typically college students who come home for the summer or they work in the local schools. These people are very willing to learn and are great workers. They need a job at the same time as I need to hire more help.

In addition, the flexibility they give to my schedule is greatly needed and at the same time I am providing a short term job to help supplement their income. With the ability to hire seasonal employees I do not get into benefits, having to try and find them hours when it slows down, or ultimately having to lay them off.

Often these employees return year after year, so there is not additional expense for training each year. We just freshen up their knowledge on new products and update their Alcohol Awareness training.

If any of you find yourself in this same situation, give my seasonal hiring practice a thought and even try it. If it doesn't work out, you are not obligated to keep them or hire them back the next year.

This can be a real "WIN-WIN" for your bottom line too!

MMBA Director

Lara Smetana

Flowers Blooming in Mahnomen

Lucky 7 (Mahnomen) Liquor Manager Steve Luckow recently presented a $500 check to the Mahnomen Flower Club as a part of the MMBA / Pabst Arbor Day promotion. The club plants and maintains flowers on Main Street during the summer.

Special Liquor Laws

Liquor laws in Minnesota have often been written as specific local laws. In many cases, these laws are codified in session law, which is not published as part of the statutory laws in Minnesota. This method of recording these laws makes them harder to track, but as a matter of law, these liquor provisions have the full force of law.

For example, the language that essentially put Cottage Grove in the municipal liquor business via their golf course is not included in the regular Alcohol Statute 340A.

Click Here to See Minnesota Statute 340A

However, it can be found in a House of Representatives database that lists every session law on liquor enacted in Minnesota from 1934 to date.

Click Here to See the House of Representatives Database Homepage

Click Here to See the Cottage Grove Language

Creative Sign!

Tankless Water Heaters

Tankless

Some bars and restaurants use tankless water heaters in their operations.

The Minnesota Department of Health recently issued a fact sheet on this subject.

Click Here to See the Fact Sheet

Wisconsin Grocers Pushing for 6 AM Alcohol Sales

From: Channel 3000

Law enforcement and grocers in Wisconsin are at odds over a bill that would allow retailers in Wisconsin to sell liquor earlier in the day.

Republican state Sen. Pam Galloway of Wausau is co-authoring legislation that would allow sales at 6 a.m., two hours earlier than the current law.

The Wisconsin Grocers Association backs the bill. Galloway said she doesn't think earlier sales will lead to an increase in alcohol abuse. She said it would allow early shoppers, including third-shift workers, to pick up some alcohol. Taverns in Wisconsin are allowed to open at 6 a.m.

Everest Metro Police Chief Wally Sparks said that more liberal policies relating to alcohol sales send the wrong message. Sparks said the little revenue retailers might gain isn't worth it.

Proof of Identification

An MMBA member had a question this week about valid forms of identification for purchasing alcohol in Minnesota.

According to Minnesota Statute 340A. 503

Subd. 6.Proof of age; defense; seizure of false identification.

(a) Proof of age for purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages may be established only by one of the following:

(1) a valid driver's license or identification card issued by Minnesota, another state, or a province of Canada, and including the photograph and date of birth of the licensed person;

(2) a valid military identification card issued by the United States Department of Defense;

(3) a valid passport issued by the United States; or

(4) in the case of a foreign national, by a valid passport.

(b) In a prosecution under subdivision 2, clause (1), it is a defense for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant reasonably and in good faith relied upon representations of proof of age authorized in paragraph (a) in selling, bartering, furnishing, or giving the alcoholic beverage.

(c) A licensed retailer or municipal liquor store may seize a form of identification listed under paragraph (a) if the retailer or municipal liquor store has reasonable grounds to believe that the form of identification has been altered or falsified or is being used to violate any law. A retailer or municipal liquor store that seizes a form of identification as authorized under this paragraph must deliver it to a law enforcement agency, within 24 hours of seizing it.

Future Dates to Remember!!