Gov. Kim Reynolds | Facebook
Gov. Kim Reynolds | Facebook
Multiple bar owners requested an injunction on Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bar closures that were brought on by the COVID-19 crisis.
A Polk County judge denied the bar owners’ request, according to a KCCI report. Reynolds instituted an order that closed all bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, distilleries and nightclubs on Aug. 27 in Black Hawk, Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Story counties.
The owner of Tonic in West Des Moines, who is also the owner of Saints Pub in Waukee, voiced the same concern as other Iowa bar owners that the governor unlawfully and unfairly targeted their industry.
The court of the Polk County judge who denied the bar owners' injunction request stated in court documents that the bar owners failed to prove that the governor’s shut down of the bars broke the law.
“The Aug. 27 proclamation that closes non-exempt establishments and limits exempt establishments’ abilities to sell alcohol is not in violation of Iowa law and the statues under which the Aug. 27 proclamation was issued," District Court Judge William Kelley said.
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