Gazette Daily News Podcast: Friday, March 29, 2024

– Should Iowa bars, restaurants that sell THC drinks face greater liability?

– U.S. changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity. It’s the first revision in 27 years.

– Events venue to open near Anamosa

Episode Transcript

Coming up, should Iowa bars and restaurants that sell THC drinks face greater liability? A proposed bill would increase and expand liquor liability insurance to cover THC beverages

And later, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity

Plus, an event venue is opening near Anamosa

Welcome to the Friday, March 29 edition of the Gazette Daily News Podcast. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

First, a bill that would increase and expand liquor liability insurance to cover THC beverages advanced this week out of an Iowa Senate subcommittee. Under Senate Study Bill 3195, Iowa bars, taprooms and restaurants that serve alcohol would face greater civil liability and insurance requirements if they also sell THC beverages. This expands the state’s quote unquote “dram shop” laws to apply to consumable hemp products. “Dram shop” laws impose civil liability for selling alcohol to those who are visibly intoxicated or underage.

The bill would increase the cap on non-economic damages for pain and suffering awarded to a person injured by an intoxicated person who is overserved to $500,000. This applies to those that serve consumable hemp products, like a hemp-based THC-seltzer, to an intoxicated person who is overserved and hurts someone after leaving the establishment. Currently, that cap is $250,000. Economic damages, like compensation for lost wages or medical expenses, are not capped.

Iowa Restaurant Association lobbyist Eric Goranson raised concerns over how establishments would train staff to detect if someone is intoxicated on THC. Goranson also considered the impact of the proposal on insurance premiums for Iowa bars, restaurants, and other establishments.

Goranson said quote, “We feel like we should be responsible for what we should be responsible for. With all the extra variables here, I feel like if we don’t do this really well, we’re going to be responsible for all kinds of behaviors that have nothing to do with what we’re doing.”

Sen. Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, said he’s concerned about how combining alcohol and THC-infused drinks can intensify the effects. Dawson said it seems appropriate that establishments selling consumable hemp products have a higher liability.

Dawson said quote, “... This is a different product. There's a delayed reaction there. This works differently compared to (alcohol) so that the retailers have to have some liability on this if they're going to sell these.”

Hemp was legalized federally in 2018. It opened the door to commercial production of hemp-based products, like the cannabis-infused sparkling water Climbing Kites. Most drinks on shelves today have 5 to 10 milligrams of THC. Hemp is limited by its THC concentration but there’s no limit on the number of milligrams an individual product can be made with.

Next, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity in an effort to more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage.

Under the revisions, questions about race and ethnicity previously asked separately on forms will be combined into a single question. Now, it will give the option to pick multiple categories at the same time, like “Black,” “American Indian” and “Hispanic”. Research has shown that large numbers of Hispanic people aren’t sure how to answer the race question when it is asked separately because they understand race and ethnicity to be similar. Research shows Hispanic respondents often pick quote “some other race” end quote or do not answer the question.

Additionally, a middle Eastern and North African category will be added to options available for questions about race and ethnicity. In the past, people descended from places like Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and Syria were encouraged to identify as white. Now, they will have the option to identify themselves in the new group.

Next, a new events center is coming to Anamosa. A recreational vehicle sales lot is transforming into The Avacentre, a venue for weddings, parties and other gatherings. It will be located at Highway 151 and 1, about 5 miles west of the Jones County community. Owner Matt Linn anticipates that the center will open in May with an open house in June. Linn said he bought the 2.7-acre property in June 2023 and work started in October. He estimated that the project costs about $2.5 million. Linn entered the events business 15 years ago. He also owns the Brosh Chapel funeral homes and The Avacentre events venues in Cedar Rapids and Solon. His company also manages two facilities for the city of Iowa City.

Linn said the Anamosa center will have a variety of event spaces, a full-service beverage lounge, outdoor bar area and a private outdoor patio equipped with a wedding backdrop and music bandshell.

Linn said quote, “The motif will be mostly industrial vintage with a hint of fun in the bar area. Our focus will be to host events in the greater Eastern Iowa area along with providing white-label catering to various locations.”

The facility will have two or three full-time employees although Linn expects that number will grow to five or more.

As always, you can find a link to each of the stories featured in today’s episode in this episode’s description or at the gazette dot com.

Now, let’s take a look at the weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today will be cloudy. Anticipate a high of 50 degrees and a low of 31 degrees. Saturday will be partly cloudy. Expect a high of 57 degrees and a low of 42 degrees. Sunday will be cloudy. Expect a high of 53 degrees and low of 42 degrees.

Thank you for listening to the Gazette Daily News Podcast. Stay up to date with the latest news from Eastern Iowa at the gazette dot com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com