Iowans buying alcohol in near record numbers

Iowans have purchased large quantities of alcohol this holiday season. The administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, Lynn Walding, says sales last week were averaging 900-thousand dollars a day. Walding says with half the fiscal year gone, the state is on a record sales pace. The state set the record last year with 105-million dollars in sales. He says sales are up six-point-two percent, putting the state on a pace to hit 112-million dollars in sales. Walding says champagne sales hit record levels last year as people celebrated the new millennium. He says expensive champagne didn’t sell as well this year, but all other types of liquor have.Walding says the biggest sales days of the year are over as sales drop off in January and February. He thinks the cold and record snow may’ve made more people turn to the spirits as people have been indoors more. He says the strong economy has also helped sales.Walding encourages Iowans who do chose to drink to do so responsibly.