RICHLAND CENTER, Wis. (UPI) Residents of Wisconsin's last drycity now can legally buy booze locally for the first time in 53 yearsafter victory in a referendum lest week of a proposal to allow beerand liquor sales in supper clubs and stores.
"That means we're going to have a city that's just saturatedwith liquor, just like the rest of the cities are," said the Rev.Kenneth Brice, a retired United Methodist minister and a member ofCitizens for a Strong Dry Center.
"Richland Center needs a little shot in the arm," countered JimLeyda, a businessman and member of the Richland AdvancementAssociation. "It's been stagnant for some time."
The town about 50 miles northwest of Madison was the last drycity in Wisconsin, said C. Lee Cheaney, director of the state'sInheritance and Excise Tax Bureau. But he said 53 towns and threevillages still are dry.
Richland Center banned liquor sales in 1909 but allowed alcoholsales for a few months after Prohibition was repealed in 1933 beforevoters made the city dry again.
Some voters had tried six times since 1960 to approve liquorsales, City Clerk Ray Lawton said.
Lawton said Tuesday's election generated so much interest thatmore than 75 percent of the 3,300 registered voters cast theirballots.
In anticipation of possible voter approval, the City Councilapproved an ordinance March 17 that prohibits establishment oftaverns.
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