The Underage Retail Orientation Campaign (UROC) will be in Ames today to educate businesses about new laws concerning sales to minors of age-sensitive products, including alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets.

The seminar series touring 17 Iowa cities started early in the year, and Ames is the last stop.

UROC was formed jointly among many state organizations, including the Iowa Lottery, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, the Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Iowa Grocery Industry Association.

“There was a need for retailers to learn about new laws concerning age-sensitive products,” said Mary Neubauer, public affairs manager for the Iowa Lottery. “We need to teach them about the laws so that they can tell their customers.”

Presentations are given by various organizations in the state. One of the most popular has been given by the Iowa Department of Transportation, showing examples of fake IDs that have been confiscated during the past few years, Neubauer said.

UROC officials hope to dispel confusion with new laws pertaining to age-sensitive products.

“The person at the [retail] counter has to be quick and be able to explain the laws,” Neubauer said.

Previous seminars have averaged about 140 people in attendance. As of Tuesday, turnout for the Ames UROC seminar was expected to be small, said Linda Cox, secretary at the Iowa Division of Alcoholic Beverages.

“There has been very poor registration to this point,” she said. “We have been disappointed in the pre-registration. We hope for a better turnout with walk-ins.”

The seminars are targeted toward businesses and retailers, but they are open to the public.

“We are looking for anybody with an interest,” Neubauer said.

The seminar is being held at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center, 2100 Green Hills Drive. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. for the first session beginning at 9 a.m., and registration is at 1 p.m. for the second session at 1:30 p.m. Each session lasts about two hours, Neubauer said.