When it comes to liquor on Sundays, Minnesota is an island. Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota all allow liquor stores to sell on Sunday.
Now a bipartisan group of senators at the Capitol is pushing legislation to eliminate the state's long-standing ban -- one of the last vestiges of laws developed during a more puritanical era in the state's history.
Legislators behind the effort say the law, which dates to 1895, is not only inconvenient for consumers, but causes Minnesota to lose sales to bordering states.
"All our neighbors allow it. Why not us?" asks Sen. Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, the bill's sponsor. In Reinert's district, it is not uncommon for people to drive to Wisconsin to buy alcohol on Sundays.
Minnesota's powerful liquor lobby fiercely opposes the bill, which they say will force liquor stores to stay open another day without a sufficient boost in sales revenue. They say it would merely extend six days of profits over seven days.
"This is the only regulated industry where we actually say we need regulation," said Frank Ball, executive director of the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association.
"It's foolishness," says Phil Colich, owner of Hennepin Lake Liquor Store in Uptown. "I can't think of one [store owner] that would want to be open on Sundays. It's basically our only day off when you're in the wine and liquor business."
Some store owners in border cities like Stillwater couldn't disagree more.
David Hansen, owner of Hansen's Liquor in Stillwater, says he loses thousands of dollars every Sunday to B&L Liquors on the other side of the St. Croix River.
"For me, [the bill] would maybe turn this into a place where I could actually make a little money," said Hansen, who watches enviously when thirsty Minnesotans descend on the river in the summertime and head for his competitor.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, which represents liquor producers and marketers, claims that allowing Sunday sales could raise Minnesota liquor sales by 5 to 7 percent, generating up to $10 million in new tax revenue annually.
Senate GOP spokesman Michael Brodkorb said the proposal is not being discussed as part of the caucus' budget plan.
An earlier proposal to do away with the ban was soundly defeated by a DFL-led House last year. A 2009 Minnesota Department of Revenue analysis determined that changing the law would result in negligible new tax revenue for the state, largely because Sunday liquor store sales would take away from bar sales, which are more heavily taxed.
Minnesota is one of 14 states that ban the sale of wine and liquor on Sundays outside of bars and restaurants. Colorado repealed its ban on Sunday liquor sales in 2008, with the official support of the state's liquor lobby.
Jeanne McEvoy, president of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, said overall liquor sales went up after the ban was eliminated, but smaller stores had a hard time absorbing the added expense of Sunday staffing.
"It's a mixed bag," McEvoy said. "Some of them call me and say this was the worst thing ever. And some of them call me and say this was the best thing ever. So I guess it depends on which side of the cash register you might be."
Eric Roper • 651-222-1210
