Iowa Liquor Laws Being Eyed Through Regulatory, Development Lenses

ANKENY — State regulators, policymakers and the alcoholic beverages industry are being asked to decide whether Iowa should order up another round of legal changes guiding the rules whereby wine, beer and spirits make their way to consumers.Gov. Terry Branstad has enlisted Stephen Larson, administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD), and Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, to spearhead a working-group review with the goal of providing initial recommendations to him by next year from a comprehensive perspective.The review panel has been asked to balance the needs of a rapidly expanding growth industry of “micro-enterprises” with state regulations and social concerns associated with alcohol consumption — some dating back to the post-Prohibition era.“This will be at least a two-year journey,” Larson said last week during an interview at the ABD’s Ankeny warehouse, which is the hub of the state’s wholesale liquor distribution operation.“It is not going to be something that we can accomplish in seven or eight months,” he noted.