Like the heart, home apparently also is where the booze is.
The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa last March and a subsequent temporary shutdown of Iowaâs bars, restaurants and hospitality industry and mitigation directives to slow the viral spread meant more Iowans were working and drinking at home â which translated into record liquor sales for fiscal 2020.
Officials in the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division say in a report released Thursday that liquor sales totaled $367.3 million during the fiscal year that ended June 30 â an increase of 8.2 percent over the previous fiscal year. Those record sales compared with $339.5 million in fiscal 2019, meaning the division transferred more than $133 million to the stateâs general fund.