The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Opponents of Steinbach's ban on dining room alcohol sales broke out the bubbly last week after the 30-year prohibition was overturned. Just 67 votes were the difference in a referendum to lift the ban, as a total of 1,801 residents voted to keep the by-law in place while 1,868 wanted it defeated. Naturally, reaction was mixed from residents of the city of about 9,500 people, located 40 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg. Some applauded the outcome as the elimination of an outdated attempt to legislate morality, while others suggested it might increase crime and mar the community's identity. This was the fifth time the city held a referendum on the ban, which took effect in 1973 after the community's beer parlour burned down. Steinbach had been Manitoba's largest dry community.
