Daily Reporter Staff

When Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, it imposed a 10 percent penalty of federal highway appropriations on any state setting its legal drinking age lower than 21. Talk of lowering the legal age to 18 has recently emerged again.

Launched in July, the Amethyst Initiative lists the names of 129 college presidents supporting such a debate due to "the problem of irresponsible drinking" and "a culture of dangerous binge drinking" on many campuses across the nation.

Iowa's Coe College, Loras College, Morningside College and Wartburg College presidents are among those supporting a new debate on the effectiveness of the 24-year-old law. They are also calling upon elected officials to "weigh all the consequences of current alcohol policies and to invite new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use."

Iowa's legal drinking age has been 21 since July 1, 1986. It was 19 from 1978-86, 18 from 1973-78 and 19 from 1972-73. Prior to 1972, Iowa's legal drinking age was 21.

Randy Krukow is among the law enforcement officials who can remember when Iowa lowered its drinking age to 18 in the 1970s. Clay County's sheriff since 2001, he became a Spencer Police Officer in 1974.

"We used to have huge, huge parties (to cover)," he recalled. "That's when we first got a videocam. We would go in and actually film all the partygoers because we would have people, surprisingly, giving us names that didn't match up with faces. I remember the Chief of Police got two video camcorders, those big ones, and we went to the parties and filmed. That really started to help cut down (illegal underage drinking locally). But our problem when it was 18 was you were having seniors buying for juniors, sophomores, freshmen and junior high (students)."

But, the Clay County Sheriff reported there has been a "definite reduction" over the years in the number of adults hosting underage drinking parties.

"Where we run into problems, typically, is graduation, homecoming and things like that, where you might have more of a tendency to celebrate -- either with or without alcohol," he said. "...From the time I started out in the early 70s in police work to now, we've seen a whole paradigm shift in attitudes. Where it used to be OK to drive down the road drunk or drive down the road drinking, that isn't as acceptable today as it was then."

Local statistics

While drunk driving reports in Clay County spiked from 33 in 2006 to 47 this year, as of last Friday, Krukow indicated the keg law enacted a few years ago, which requires kegs to be registered, may be among the factors helping to curb underage drinking parties in the area.

The Clay County Sheriff also reported there were 13 individuals charged with underage possession of alcohol in 2006, which compares to 11 last year. The Clay County underage alcohol possessions reported to date in 2008 number eight.

"That doesn't mean driving under the influence, it's just possession," Krukow clarified. "Alcohol is still the No. 1 legal drug of choice out there -- and we see it with our OWI stats, which seem to be picking up. ... You can arrest people from sunup to sundown, but until attitudes change, you're not going to affect that."

In Clay County, Spencer Police Department statistics show 52 violation of liquor law charges filed in 2006. Forty public intoxication and 64 operating while intoxicated (OWI) charges were also filed in 2006.

The people charged with liquor law violations increased to 74 in 2007. So far this year, 62 individuals have been charged with a liquor law violation.

Within Spencer's city limits, 71 driving under the influence charges were filed in 2007. To date in 2008, that number is 87. In addition, drunkenness citations were issued to 76 individuals last year. Forty-three drunkenness reports have been filed in 2008.

Data from the Iowa Youth Survey (IYS), meanwhile, is used by local representatives to gauge youth attitudes surrounding this and other topics. This survey -- an effort conducted by the Iowa Department of Public Health's Division of Behavioral Health, the Iowa Department of Education, the Office of Drug Control Policy, the Iowa Department of Human Rights, the Iowa Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning and Statistical Analysis Center and the Iowa Department of Human Services -- has been administered every three years since 1999. (See Clay County Data: Fall 2005 Iowa Youth Survey, page 1.)

Sixth, eighth and 11th grade students across Iowa are answering IYS questions about their attitudes and experiences regarding substance abuse and violence, and offering perceptions of their peer, family, school, neighborhood and community environments again this fall.

"It is the best data we have to help us look at viewpoints of our youth, as well as what they're reporting for use or non-use and looking at health and safety issues," Mary Sloan, a prevention supervisor at Compass Pointe, formerly known as Northwest Iowa Alcohol and Drug Treatment Unit, said. "The other data that we use is law enforcement data, as well as perceptions that we hear or information that we hear from parents or kids. That is valid data as well, whether it be fact or perception."

"I am very pleased that in Clay County we have law enforcement (officials) who appreciate the (alcohol) compliance checks with businesses. We may have policy in place," Sloan continued, "but if we hear things in the community that are different than that policy, then what we hear in the community is really the policy."

Hosting may pose adverse effects

"Whether they knowingly host an underage party or unwittingly allow their property to be used for an underage party where alcohol and/or controlled substances are used would be zero tolerance," Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson said. "It's always case-by-case, but the parents of people who are in charge of that will be prosecuted."

Besides legal complications, adults hosting underage parties involving alcohol should consider the potential impacts this could have on their insurance.

"Any time you purchase, provide or provide a place for underage drinking, would make an individual liable for injuries sustained there or later as a result of those injuries," said Rhonda Helm, a Farm Bureau Financial Services agent. "You're always running a risk on your liability. ... It could present problems in a liability respect on your homeowner's insurance or on your personal insurance."

Gary Ogburn, a State Farm Insurance agent in Spencer, added, "If someone is injured as a result of our policyholders doing that (hosting an underage drinking party), they could be named in a suit, based on the facts and circumstances. We would defend, and possibly have coverage for their liability, up to the limits of their policy."

When asked if insurance coverage could be taken from a policy holder, Ogburn answered, "Possibly. If the parent knows liquor is being dispensed to a minor, it could cause a coverage question. But if they don't know, again, it would be based on the facts and circumstances of each individual situation."

Scott Simpson, the senior vice president and agency manager of Community Bank and Insurance, cautioned further, "From an insurance standpoint, just be aware of your exposure. And this is an exposure, I feel, you should share with your kids. Let them know they're responsible for their actions. ... But ultimately, our kids are an extension of us, and we're responsible for our own actions. So, our kids' actions, ultimately, reflect on us as parents."

Clay County Data: Fall 2005 Iowa Youth Survey

How wrong would your parents/guardian feel it would be for you to drink beer, wine or hard liquor without their permission?

* 95% of 8th graders reported wrong or very wrong

* 77% of 11th graders reported wrong or very wrong

In your community/neighborhood, how difficult do you think it would be for a kid your age to get alcoholic beverages?

* 29% of 8th graders reported easy or very easy

* 80% of 11th graders reported easy or very easy

How wrong do you think most adults in your community/neighborhood feel it would be for you to drink alcohol?

* 91% of 8th graders reported wrong or very wrong

* 74% of 11th graders reported wrong or very wrong