SMOKING BANS: City is stricter on ban

Publication Date: 2005-06-05

• Author:Tu-Uyen Tran
• Publication:Grand Forks (ND) Herald

Local smoking ban to be voted on Monday differs slightly from state law

The smoking ban Grand Forks City Council members will vote on Monday is somewhat stricter than the state law that it would supplement but, for those it affects, the change could be drastic.

Jim Flynn, owner of Red Ray Lanes, said nearly 60 percent of his customers are smokers and he expects most of them to migrate to his competitor in East Grand Forks. "They'll finish the job that the flood started," he said morosely.

That's because the ban would hit bars in bowling alleys, hotels and restaurants, effectively allowing smoking only in stand-alone bars. State law exempts all bars, stating only that bars in other facilities, such as bowling alleys, be enclosed and separate from the rest of the facility.