Minnes ta cr wds causing pr blems, spike in p lice calls

The Prescott City Council moved to close bars at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights and select other dates until Jan. 4 in an effort to curb violence that reportedly stems from Minnesota people crossing the state line and converging on the community because their bars are closed to in-person service.

Last weekend, a Twin Cities man was stabbed and killed outside a Hudson bar at 1 a.m. and witnesses said several suspects got in a minivan with Minnesota plates and fled the scene. Arrests were made in that case, and Hudson also acted to curtail its bar hours as a result of the problem.

In Prescott, Police Chief Eric Michaels said there have been fights after 2 a.m. bar closing, one with 9-10 people.

The meeting was more than an hour long, but much of that was because of communication issues. There were phone lines apparently crossed where a school board meeting somewhere was

City approves

Kwik Trip plan competing with the city council for airtime. There was profanity used by callers, and Mayor David Hovel had difficulty getting the meeting off the ground.

“What does the school do? I hear their meetings go well,” he asked.

In the city meetings, there’s a combination of phoning in and some people are in-person. Most meetings are manageable if just slightly difficult to hear on the phone-in end. This one was frustrating for everyone involved, and City Administrator Jayne Brand attempted to mute those calling in, because some weren’t muting themselves. While debate simmered on bar closing time, listeners also heard an argument over what TV show to watch and about a kid who isn’t’ getting anymore toys if he keeps breaking his.

The original proposal was to close the bars at 10 p.m. because “this influx of people has caused a significant increase in traffic and crime in the City of Prescott, especially on weekends.”

“The Prescott Police Department calls for service have doubled in regard to incidents that have taken place downtown at, or near the bars. The Prescott Police Department has also observed an increase in the amount of ‘Fight in Progress’ and ‘Assault’ complaints,” the resolution states. It states that on more than one occasion, there have been more than 10 people fighting, and it’s been after bar close.

“This influx of people into the City of Prescott and the resulting increase in crime, including violent crime, has overloaded the City’s public safety systems, including police protection, emergency medical services and systems, safety of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and the public safety systems of surrounding municipalities due to increased calls for mutual aid, thus jeopardizing public safety in the City of Prescott and surrounding areas,” the resolution states.

In addition to Fridays and Saturdays, the midnight closing also will be in effect Dec. 23, 24 and 31, New Year’s Eve.

The resolution took effect Friday and remains in effect until Jan. 3. However, council members said the 10 p.m. time would be revisited if there are any problems ongoing.

After the reading of the resolution, Greg Wagner of No Name Saloon said that bar owners would be willing to work with the midnight closing, with “last call” at 11:30 p.m.

“I don’t think it’s fair to take Hudson and put it on us. It would be like putting Minneapolis on Hastings,” he said. “We could accept midnight.”

Michaels said data shows that 2 – 3 a.m. after Friday and Saturday nights is when the problems are.

“That’s when we’re having most of our issues with violence,” he said. The chief was questioned on why police don’t have a presence in the bars, he said it’s because they can’t risk contracting COVID-19.

“If one of my officers comes down with COVID-19, it could shut down our department,” he said.

Council member Maureen Otwell said the problem creates a burden on the entire community.

“When you talk about public safety costs, the bar owners are expecting us as taxpayers to pay for the cost of police and any injuries that they may incur as a result of these incidents. That’s spread among everyone in the community. It’s not paid for by the bar owners,” she said.

Hovel said the situation will be looked at again if there are problems or if Minnesota continues their shutdown past Jan. 3.

Bar owners were also warned to make sure they aren’t exceeding the 25 percent occupancy in their establishments.

“We are having issues with the 25 percent. It is in place right now. Does the police department drive around and look for it now? If there’s a complaint, they will,” said Hovel.

“The thing we’re hearing from residents is that they’re seeing

all the Minnesota plates. We’ve seen the occupancy numbers,” she told bar owners in attendance. “They’re really small for your business. There are residents who are going to start calling the police. For them, it’s the COVID issue.”

The council vote for the midnight close was unanimous.