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Minot council keeps retail liquor-license cap after heated public hearing; directs ordinance rewrite
Summary
After more than two hours of discussion and a public hearing with business owners and attorneys, the Minot City Council voted 4–3 to retain the city's existing cap on retail liquor licenses and sent a broader alcohol ordinance rewrite back to staff for revision.
The Minot City Council voted 4–3 on Oct. 20 to retain the city's current cap on retail liquor licenses after a lengthy public hearing that drew more than a dozen business owners and attorneys. Council members also directed staff to continue rewriting Chapter 5 of the city code governing alcoholic beverages and to return with a revised draft for further council review.
The vote came after more than an hour of public testimony from licensed retail operators and attorneys representing groups of license holders. Deb Hoffarth of Pringle & Herrickstead, representing the Magic City Retail Beverage Dealers, urged the council to keep the cap, arguing that purchased licenses are valuable assets and that removing the cap would destroy those investments and reduce city revenue. Jessica Klein of Olsen & Burns, representing Marketplace Liquors, told the council the proposed changes created uncertainty for off-sale retailers because it was not clear how a new off-sale license…
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