City-owned Inver Wood Golf Course in Inver Grove Heights was among seven liquor-license holders recently fined for failing an underage alcohol sting.
The $750 fines were approved by the city council last week, and yes, the city’s golf course has to pay.
“I know that seems a little silly — the city paying the city — but that’s the requirement,” City Administrator Joe Lynch said this week, adding that the fine will come from Inver Wood’s budget.
To Lynch’s knowledge, it was the first offense for Inver Wood, which opened in 1992.
“It wasn’t our best moment,” he said.
An Inver Wood clubhouse employee served a police decoy a beer without checking identification during the July 20 sting. The city employee was cited for misdemeanor selling to a minor and given a court date, Lynch said.
Within a week of the offense, the city retrained golf course staff on alcohol education and awareness, Lynch said.
“It was a learning opportunity,” he said, “and we’ve taken it as such and we’ve doubled-down our efforts on education and training and reinforced the need to check everybody for an ID, regardless of how old they look.”
According to the Sept. 12 city council agenda, the others that failed were Applebee’s; Arbor Pointe Golf Course, which is privately owned; Drkula’s 32 Bowl; Market Liquor; Mississippi Pub; and Outback Steakhouse.