Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Nebraska activists scold commission for Whiteclay beer sales

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The director of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission says without substantive proof the agency cannot act on allegations that beer-sellers in Whiteclay are abusing their licenses.

Activists on Tuesday called on the commission to withhold liquor licenses from the town's four beer stores, saying vendors sell to pregnant women, minors and customers who are already drunk, but agency director Hobert Rupe says the kind of action testifiers are seeking requires witnesses to go on the record.

Frank LaMere, a Native American activist from South Sioux City, berated the commission, saying prejudice and apathy prevent its intervention.

Whiteclay sold the equivalent of 3.9 million cans of beer in 2015, despite having only 14 residents. The town has been blamed for social problems on bordering South Dakota's dry Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.