21-only refresher

IOWA CITY - As reported last night, the Iowa City Council is revisiting the controversial 21-only bar issue.

If approved, only those 21 and older would be allowed in Iowa City bars at night. Currently, those 19 and older can get in.

It's an issue the city has debated off and on for years, most recently in 2007, when voters shot down a 21-only ballot initiative.

Below are three articles from 2007 to refresh everyone on what happened then.

02/09/2007

21-only I.C. bar rule urged

By Gregg Hennigan

The Gazette

IOWA CITY - A citizen-led effort is under way to try to make it illegal for people younger than 21 to be in Iowa City bars after 10 p.m.

If successful, the move would bring big changes to this college town's nightlife.

Iowa City residents Rick Dobyns and the Rev. Mark Martin filed an affidavit with the city Wednesday saying they plan to start a petition drive to force the City Council to act on a long-debated 21-and-older ordinance.

They will need to collect signatures from 3,333 qualified voters, which is 25 percent of the 2005 city election turnout, by May 11.

If they succeed the City Council will have two options: approve the proposed ordinance within 60 days or send the decision to voters.

If an election is held, it likely would be in November, City Clerk Marian Karr said Thursday.

The City Council appeared to be on the verge of passing a 21-and-older ordinance in spring 2003. But after hearing from upset bar owners, a compromise was reached that established the current ordinance, which prohibits those younger than 19 from being inside bars after 10 p.m.

unless accompanied by guardians, parents, spouses or domestic partners over age 21.

The council again discussed a 21-only ordinance in fall 2004, but a majority was not willing to go forward. Dobyns, a physician at University Hospitals who was defeated in the November 2005 City Council election, said he is confident the city would support the petition drive as a way to address the perceived binge-drinking problem at the University of Iowa.

He also pointed to a panel of community leaders, which included Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and University Hospitals CEO Donna Katen-Bahensky, that recommended in October passing 21-and-older ordinances countywide.

"That sort of reignited this concern," he said.

A group called the Committee for Healthy Choices has formed to spearhead the petition drive, Dobyns said.

Brian Flynn, co-chair of Iowa City's Alcohol Advisory Board and owner of the downtown bar Joe's Place, which is 21-and-older after 8 p.m., said the current law has worked well and there's no need to change it.

"Obviously, in my opinion, we've created an entertainment community in downtown Iowa City, and part of that does lend itself to college-age people" younger than 21, he said.

06/20/2007

I.C. fight nights lose first round

Council votes for ban, plans city election on `under 21' in bars

ByGregg Hennigan

The Gazette

IOWA CITY - Bargoers in this college town known for its vibrant nightlife soon may see fewer entertainment options.

The City Council voted last night on two measures that affect bars.

First, the council voted 7-0 to ban amateur fighting and boxing in establishments that serve alcohol. Two more votes are necessary for the proposal to pass.

The council also decided to hold an election on whether to make it illegal for people younger than 21 to be inside alcohol-serving establishments after 10 p.m. The current law sets the age limit at 19.

The council took up the amateur fighting issue in reaction to the "fight nights" at the Union Bar that allow amateurs to either box or to fight in a style known as mixed martial arts, which allows punching, kicking and grappling.

The downtown bar has attracted hundreds of spectators and dozens of fighters every Wednesday since the event began in late March.

No governmental oversight of the bouts exists because the state only regulates professional fights. Similar amateur events are held in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque.

Iowa City Council members said they had public safety concerns and did not want the city to get involved in regulating the sport.

"The liability is the biggest concern I have for the city of Iowa City," council

member Dee Vanderhoef said.

Fight night organizers said they don't allow anyone drunk to participate and have had no problems with the fighting spreading outside the ring.

Fighters are matched by size and experience and are given a brief prefight physical by an emergency medical technician. Fighters wear mouth guards and gloves, and there is a referee.

"We do it for a reason: So people aren't hurt," event promoter Monte Cox said.

The 21-only issue for bars came to the council following a successful petition drive this spring led by citizens concerned about the perceived binge-drinking problem of college students.

The petition forced the council to either adopt a 21-only ordinance itself or send the matter to voters as part of the Nov. 6 election. Council members were split in their opinions on whether there should be a 21-only law, but the majority said they thought the people should decide the matter.

"I do believe some people signed the petition in the interest of having a vote on it," council member Regenia Bailey said.

No one from the public spoke on the matter.

It's far from certain that the law will be changed. An election will allow many of the nearly 30,000 University of Iowa students to have a say in the outcome.

UI Student Government President Barrett Anderson, who opposes a 21-and-older ordinance, has said he would encourage students to vote on the matter.

If the law is changed, businesses in which alcohol makes up less than 50 percent of annual gross sales may receive exemptions.

11/07/2007

'21 and older' fails in I.C.

By Jennifer Hemmingsen

The Gazette

IOWA CITY -- Iowa City bars will continue to be open to underage patrons after voters defeated a ballot initiative Tuesday to keep them out after 10 p.m.

But there was drama in this election right to the last minute because of technical glitches when votes were counted. The totals initially showed the ordinance narrowly passing. Then, new totals showed it losing by an overwhelming margin of more than 2,000 votes.

The most recent preliminary election results showed 8,895 people voted against the ordinance, which would have prohibited 19- and 20-year-olds from entering bars that earn more than 50 percent of their sales from alcohol after 10 p.m. Only 6,606 voted yes.

Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett said the results won't change but the totals likely will today. He said the error was caused by a new procedure importing some results into his office's election return computer files.

Thirty-four percent of eligible Iowa City voters turned out--a record for city elections here.

Leah Cohen, 55, owner of Bo-James, 118 E. Washington St., was being interviewed by a student television station when she heard the numbers had been reworked and the ordinance was defeated. She ran screaming north along the 10 block of South Clinton Street and grabbed Mike Porter, who helped her lead the push for the ordinance's defeat, in an ecstatic bear hug.

"I'm so excited," she said.

"I'm shocked," Porter, 39, of Iowa City, said. He owns two downtown bars that allow underage patrons and contributed $12,000 to efforts to defeat the ordinance.

Porter said the numbers didn't add up when the initial technical error, showing the ordinance failed, caused opponents of the measure some alarm.

"I was on the phone with my attorney," Porter said.

The error was fixed, and the next round of preliminary results showed 57 percent opposing the ordinance and 43 percent in favor.

Cheers erupted from Clinton Street in downtown Iowa City as news of the defeat spread. By 11:15 p.m., a crowd of about 100 gathered outside The Summit, 10 S. Clinton St., which is one of Porter's bars and which had held a handful of patrons less than two hours before.

The Rev. Mark Martin, 62, a minister at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1300 Melrose Ave., and a proponent of the ordinance, said he was frustrated when the totals showing the ordinance lost were posted, but he would continue to work on tempering alcohol consumption here. He said ordinance supporters would focus on the enforcement of existing ordinances and laws.

"Those of us who have been working for a more sane downtown and a more sane alcohol culture will continue that battle," he said.

Yes supporters were outspent by bars, which kicked in $23,000 to defeat the measure. Anti-21 activists used automated calling, yard signs and postcards and even had a car with a bullhorn reminding people to vote.

Opponents' push to register and turn out student voters is credited with shattering early voting records for municipal elections. Of the record 6,870 votes cast on the issue before Tuesday's election, 74 percent were "no" votes. Only 1,800 early voters voted for the ordinance. But pro-21 voters gained ground Tuesday, gathering small majorities in most precincts.

At Longfellow Elementary School, 1130 Seymour Ave., Precinct 18, voters were split on the issue.

"I think it's important that college students in Iowa City have the opportunity to hang out together," said Genevieve Anglin, 35, who voted against the ordinance.

"As much as we don't like to talk about it, it's part of our culture," Anglin said. "Do college students drink too much? Maybe."

"But not letting them go to the bars isn't going to make them drink any less," said Alex Schmidt, 36, who also voted no.

Several yes voters said they were torn about how to vote. Jan Palmer, 56, said she didn't have strong feelings either way. She said she was planning as late as Monday night on voting no but ultimately voted for the ordinance "to show that it's an issue that needs to be addressed as much as I think it's going to help."

In a statement released late last night, Slockett said his office will determine today what caused the errors and would provide a detailed explanation.

"As soon as we became aware of the problems about 9:30 p.m., we researched and corrected the errors and manually entered the actual results," he said.