Minnesota Bars Dry Up

The government shutdown in Minnesota is starting to hit people where it really hurts: their neighborhood bars. More than 300 bars and liquor stores are unable to buy booze because their $20 alcohol-purchasing licenses have expired, and the state agency that renews them is closed. State officials have also asked MillerCoors LLC to pull all 39 of its beer brands from store shelves because the state did not process the company’s brand-label fee before the shutdown. Minnesota’s state government shut down July 1 as the state’s Democratic governor and Republican legislature failed to agree on how to close a $5 billion budget gap.