Ames Police have yet to utilize Story County’s keg ordinance since it was passed in January 2006 and was superseded by a similar state law July 1.

The keg ordinance requires every keg sold in the county to have a label attached to it that identifies who purchased the keg of beer.

The purpose of the ordinance was to provide police with another way to identify those who buy alcohol for minors and to prevent it from happening.

Although it was passed more than a year ago, it has not changed much for police or businesses that sell kegs.

Dennis Gano, owner of Cyclone Liquors, 626 Lincoln Way, said no one has used it at his store.

“Nobody has ever come in to see the books yet,” he said.

Ames Police Chief Chuck Cychosz said Ames Police have not used the ordinance at all.

Cychosz said that this fact doesn’t mean the ordinance is not helpful.

“I do believe that the people who purchase the beer need to take responsibility,” Cychosz said.

People were more upset about giving out their personal information than they were about taking the time to fill out the forms, explained Rich Parizek, store manager of The Keg Shop, 218 Welch Ave. #3.

“There were a couple of grumpy customers at first, but they all accepted it after a while,” Parizek said. “They had no choice.”

As for keg sales, Gano said it’s hard to know whether they are decreasing because of the ordinance.

“The keg market was already on its way down,” Parizek said. “Keg sales have slowed down due to many factors.”

The ordinance was superseded by a similar state law on July 1, 2007.

It affected the businesses in another way when the state law took over – the businesses are now required to pay for the tags that are put on the kegs.

Parizek said it costs $5 for a packet of 25 stickers. In a time period of 14 months, the Keg Shop sells about 2,500 kegs.

Other than that, according to Gano, everything at Cyclone Liquors is “pretty similar.”

“Everything is pretty much the same,” said Parizek of The Keg Shop’s business. “So far, so good.”

Gano said that, despite the disadvantages, if the ordinance saves a life, it’s worth it.