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Alcohol treatment center for Native Americans discussed

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November 24th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An activist is urging Sioux City and Woodbury County officials to open an alcohol treatment center for Native Americans. The Sioux City Journal reports that Frank LaMere told officials at a forum Monday that a facility could help lower the disproportionate number of Native Americans arrested for public intoxication in Sioux City.

The city did have a Native American Alcohol Treatment Program that was funded by the Indian Health Service before it closed in 2005. The meeting was a follow-up to a September round-table discussion that focused on what community leaders say is a growing problem of alcoholism and homelessness in Sioux City.

Sioux City Police Chief Doug Young said that a ban on single-can beer sales, which had been previously discussed to curb public intoxication, would not be possible because the state of Iowa regulates liquor sales.