Later bar-hour push for GOP convention hits early last call

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Tuesday March 11, 2008



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A Minnesota state senator has withdrawn a bill which would have extended drinking hours at local bars during the Republican National Convention next summer.

The legislation would have changed the closing time from 2 am to 4 am for bars in the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul area between Aug. 29 and Sep. 8.

Legislator Linda Scheid gave up her effort following just an hour of debate in the state legislature, after she found that the police had concerns that it would affect all bars, not just those near the convention.

Even convention organizers were unenthusiastic about the plan, with spokespeople for both the committee running the convention and that handling local hosting emphasizing that the idea hadn't come from them.

"That was quick," Scheid said on Monday evening. "It would have been a very short law, too."

WKTB.com has a related report from The Associated Press here.

(With wire services)

This video is from WCCO, broadcast March 10, 2008.







