Burlington, Ia (The Hawk Eye)- A local bar and restaurant owner is facing legal action in the so-called Corona War in Des Moines County.
The Hawk Eye reports that John Archer, co-owner of Kelly O’Sheas Shamrock Pub & Grill, 609 S. Main St. in Burlington, was cited with a public health violation, “Disasters Emerg. Vio.” for failure to close O’Shea’s bar at noon on Tuesday.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all bars closed at noon on St. Patrick’s Day to help prevent the spread in Iowa of COVID-19, a.k.a. the coronavirus; her directive wasn’t announced until Tuesday morning.
Archer’s citation is dated 3-17-20 at 4:27 p.m. He said he did not receive the citation until Wednesday morning at a meeting with Burlington Police Chief Dennis Kramer.
Kramer visited O’Shea’s in-person Tuesday afternoon but left after Archer said he was not properly notified.
“I’m fighting this ticket because I didn’t hurt anybody,” Archer said.
Archer’s court date is set for April 21 to comply with the governor’s 30-day shutdown window.
