The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled the drinking and parties at an Okoboji business have to stop. Leo Parks owns a marina business known as "Okoboji Boats" in an area of West Lake Okoboji, and for years sold beer, wine and snacks that people could take out of the business and drink elsewhere.
In 2003 Parks proposed adding a lakefront bar to the marina which would serve drinks and host a variety of activities. The city denied Parks’ request for a liquor license for the bar, and he appealed in district court saying the bar was an important part of the evolution and use of the marina. The issue ended up with the Supreme Court, which ruled the change Parks planned would significantly alter the use of the marina, and upheld the ban on the bar.
But when the case went back to the district court, the district judge said people could buy the alcohol at Parks’ business and drink it in an area nearby. And that Parks could still host live music and activities such as pig roasts in that area. The city appealed again, and the latest ruling from the Supreme Court says the injunction issued by the district court fell well short of the letter and spirit of their opinion.
The high court said its decision was based on the expanded activities associated with the proposed bar, not the particular manner or licensing scheme Parks sought to employ to ultimately create a bar at the marina. The Supreme Court has sent the case back to the district judge with the order that the district court issue a permanent injunction against the bar consistent with their original opinion.