Rybak: A ‘fun city’ should consider 4 a.m. bar close during RNC

Remember that survey a few years back that named Minneapolis the most fun city in the country? Apparently, the reputation isn’t sticking, which is why Mayor R.T. Rybak says he wants the City Council to stay open-minded to the idea of extending bar closing time to 4 a.m. during this summer’s Republican National Convention.Here’s the mayor during yesterday’s Intergovernmental Relations committee meeting:

“We told them this would be a fun city. We competed for this convention, and we compete for many other conventions, with other cities that try to present the fact that, gee, nice place but not a lot of fun. We fight that perception out in the marketplace a lot. We know this is a fun city, but I have to tell you that in pitching both of these conventions I talked to many, many, many people, both Democrats and Republicans who say, gee, we also want to go somewhere fun, wouldn’t New York or Denver be more fun? We kind of joke about it a little but, but this matters. This is a big industry for us. People ask us all the time about issues like this. That’s why we moved to the 2 a.m. bar closing.”

The discussion was in response to an amendment to the state budget bill by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis. It would let cities within a 10-mile radius of the Xcel Center decide whether or not to extend bar hours to 4 a.m. and allow liquor stores to sell on Sundays during the weeklong convention. A previous bill that would have extended convention bar hours in the seven-county metro area failed to get a hearing earlier in the session.

City Council members expressed mixed attitudes toward the idea, but no vote was taken on Tuesday. Council Member Paul Ostrow was frustrated the proposal didn’t come up sooner. Council Member Diane Hofstede wanted to promote non-drinking-related activities. Council Member Sandy Colvin Roy asked whether the 4 a.m. closing time could be limited to downtown bars.