Packed hearing for Thirsty Perch

OLA – The Village of Iola board voted to not renew the liquor license for the Thirsty Perch at the June 26 public hearing.
The board room was standing room-only as patrons of Thirsty Perch and community residents showed up to watch the hearing.
The board adjourned to go into closed session after both sides concluded their case. An hour and twenty minutes later they reconvened into open session and voted to not renew the operator’s license to Steve Steeber, one of the owners of Thirsty Perch, as well as a non-renewal of the Class B liquor license held by the Thirsty Perch.
Laura Krogwold, the Village of Iola clerk, confirmed the reason for non-renewal was related to Steeber’s alcohol-related offenses. This includes two misdemeanors for False Swearing (Class A misdemeanor) and Resisting or Obstructing an Officer (Class A misdemeanor).
Steeber also has a pending operating-while-intoxicated (OWI) charge moving through the court system.

The hearing heard statements from both Iola Police Chief Paul Zierler as well as from Sheri Miller and Steve Steeber through their lawyer.
A notable addition to the hearing was the body cam footage played by Chief Zierler from the arrest of Steeber who was pulled over by Deputy Brandon Rasmussen last December.
The video shows Steeber using expletives and refusing to get out of the vehicle.
After approximately ten minutes Steeber agrees to get out but tells the deputy to let go of his arm so he can properly swing his legs out of the car and exit the vehicle.
Steeber is a double amputee and he cited this as the reason that he did not want to exit the vehicle in the body cam footage.
The deputy would not let go of his arm and once Steeber turned toward the car door he was pulled from his vehicle by Deputy Rasmussen and pulled to his stomach on the ground and then video stopped.
Chief Zierler was asked if this was common practice, to which he replied yes because it stops the deputy from potentially being hit.
Steeber had a .208 blood alcohol level in his system at the time of arrest.
During the closed session they called Miller in to discuss a compromise, which would include allowing for the temporary approval of the liquor license until Oct. 1 to allow time to remove Steeber’s name from the LLC and dissolving his ownership in the business entirely, which was an option that Miller refused to entertain.
“He’s been through enough in the last year with being an amputee, he’s lost his legs, he’s lost so much in the last year,” Miller said in an interview after the hearing. “The last thing I’m doing is taking his business from him, I’m not heartless.”

Formal statements
After the vote took place for the non-renewal, mediator Charles Adams read the following statement: “The village board would’ve preferred not to non-renew the license for Thirsty Perch. They had hoped that Ms. Miller would accept the board’s offer to allow the bar to remain open in exchange for the bar coming into compliance with the law by removing Mr. Steeber as a member of the LLC by October 1, however they needed to have approval from Ms. Miller to do that, she was unwilling to do that and they were left no choice because the license is—they’re not eligible for that license because of those convictions. They’re not happy with the decision that was made today.”
Jennifer Schustek, president of the village board, also made a statement: “The village board approached this matter with the seriousness it deserved. Each trustee carefully reviewed all submitted materials, evaluated testimony, and fulfilled their responsibilities under the law. During the hearing, a proposal was raised that would have removed Steve Steeber from the license and transferred ownership and licensing authority to Sherri Miller. This option was presented as a potential resolution to address the board’s concerns while allowing the business to continue operating. However, the offer was declined by the applicants.”
Schustek said a good faith offer was made to negotiate a solution, which Miller refused leading to a unanimous vote by the board to not renew the operator’s license for Steeber and alcohol beverage license for the Thirsty Perch.
Schustek added that she is not the owner of the Crystal Café, while members of her family are; she has no ownership interest in the business nor operational control.

Miller believes that the village and police are targeting her for making a formal complaint about Chief Zierler, stating that this is retaliation.
Miller said she intends to appeal the decision through legal avenues. As of July 1, the Thirsty Perch alcohol beverage license expired.