Liquor stores? My Son In Law just told me that. He grew up in Ontario. I had no idea.

yup there are a few states like that also where the state owns all the liquor stores

Assuming something to be true about “Canada” based on Ontario is no different than someone like me saying that I heard the USA has decriminalized drugs because a state may have.
Canada owns none, some provinces do, some provinces have strictly privatized liquor. Your son in law should know that.

In Minnesota the city owns the municipal liquor store within the city limits not the state. If there is a muni store there is no other store that sells hard liquor or strong beer.

Just what he said but he's been in the US a long time now

Hard liquor stores in Idaho are state owned and operated. Thought it was that way in every state.

Not in NY surprisingly.

Washington state did up until a few years ago….l

Here if the liquor store is in town it most likely run by the city. There are liquor stores out in the country these are privately owned.

Ohio has a public/private thing going on to buy hard liquor, anything over 40 proof.

Guess he said something not true. But it appears as though the US owns the liquor stores based on some replies. Lol

Iowa used to have state run liquor stores.

In WI they are all private, no Gov't run liquor stores.
I've even seen liquor, guns and pawn all in the same store.

I learned this when we moved to Minnesota from Indiana. Folks had to educate me
I also didn't understand the on-sale/off-sale thing.

In a town not too far from me the liquor store is in the same building as the Head Start program. Figure that one.

Pennsylvania is one of them.

And then they raped us with higher prices with insane tax!

Nebraska is a free for all state. Beer, wine, liquor all in Walmart. In Kansas you cannot buy wine in any grocery store but beer yes.

Wisconsin is totally unique in how we regulate alcohal

no state stores . the state actually doesn't even issue liquor licenses other than to the local municipalities based on population

if is really the ultimate in local control.

as I understand it 47 states issue alcohol licenses and 2 states issue them at a county level

Hawaii and I think it was Indiana issue at the county level, in HI each island is it's own county.

and then there is Wisconsin!

in WI every City , Village , and township is granted a number of licenses they may issue based on the population of each municipality.
there is a state standard and then the municipalities may go more strict than that.

as an example where I live the sober server max B.A.C is 0.04 the state limit for servers is 0.08 the same as driving.

there are different licenses

What types of alcohol beverage licenses are there?
Class "A" fermented malt beverage licenses allow retail sale of fermented malt beverages (beer) for consumption off the premises. Examples: grocery or convenience stores. (sec. 125.25, Wis. Stats.)
"Class A" liquor licenses allow retail sale of intoxicating liquor (including wine) for consumption off the premises. Examples: liquor stores or grocery stores with full liquor sales sections. (sec. 125.51(2), Wis. Stats.)
"Class A" (cider only) licenses allow retail sale of cider (any alcohol beverage made from the fermentation of the juice of apples or pears and that contains not less than 0.5% alcohol by volume and not more than 7% alcohol by volume) for consumption off the premises. Class "A" licensees applying for a "Class A" (cider only) license shall be issued the "Class A" (cider only) license. The municipality may not charge an initial issuance fee or annual fee for the "Class A" (cider only) license, but may charge a fee for newspaper publication of the alcohol beverage license application. (sec. 125.51(2)(e), Wis. Stats.)
Class "B" fermented malt beverage licenses allow retail sale of fermented malt beverages (beer) for consumption on or off the premises. Examples: restaurants, "beer bars." (sec. 125.26, Wis. Stats.)
"Class B" liquor licenses allow retail sale of intoxicating liquor (including wine) for consumption on the premises, and wine in original sealed containers for consumption off the premises. Intoxicating liquor may also be sold by the glass for consumption off the premises if secured with a tamper-evident seal. If the municipality elects to, it may also permit sale of intoxicating liquor in any quantity, in the original sealed container, for consumption off the premises. Check local ordinances for the allowance. State law also allows carryout of a single, opened (resealed) bottle of wine if sold with a meal at either a "Class B" or "Class C" licensed premises. Examples: taverns and restaurants with alcohol beverage service. (secs. 125.51(3), 125.51(3r), Wis. Stats.)
"Class C" wine licenses allow the sale of wine for consumption only on the premises and allow the carryout of a single opened (resealed) bottle if sold with a meal. Sale of additional bottles of wine for consumption off the premises is not allowed. (secs. 125.51(3m), 125.51(3r), Wis. Stats.)
Temporary Class B licenses (often called picnic licenses) allow retail fermented malt beverage and/or wine sales, at temporary events like fairs and festivals. Only specified organizations qualify for such a license. Temporary licenses may be issued to:
Bona fide clubs
State, county, or local fair associations, or agricultural societies
Churches, lodges, or societies that have been in existence for at least 6 months prior to the date of application
Posts of veterans organizations
Chambers of commerce or similar civic or trade organizations organized under ch. 181, Wis. Stats
There are several other locally issued licenses or state issued permits that allow retail sale of alcohol beverages under certain circumstances. The licenses listed above are the most common, however. (sec. 125.51(10), Wis. Stats.)


so all that applies to everywhere in WI except Milwaukee , I don't know how there system works just that it is different than the rest of the state.
I was told in the training I took don't worry about MKE they are their own entity.


So for you not familiar with WI basically every gas station , convenance store , grocery store , and about 2/3 of restaurants sell alcohol.

every festival , adult soft ball tournament , VFW gathering , or concert has a beer tent.

most golf courses also have a beer cart that makes the rounds selling to golfers


GUNS , BAIT , BEER is a common sign

Mi. used to have State liquor commission buildings and the bars had to get their booze there now many of the bars are gone so is the building can't remember when that happened The state probably recognized the good generate more money thru license fees and taxes while avoiding any blowback from running shine