Judge upholds city’s adult entertainment ordinance

    A  Cerro Gordo County District Court judge has ruled the City of Clear Lake’s adult entertainment ordinance is  constitutional.
    Alan Slater, co-owner of The Marina, 2309 4th Ave. S., had challenged the city’s ordinance in the wake of receiving a citation.  As a result of the ruling by District Court Judge Gregg Rosenbladt, Slater will now stand trial for holding a wet T-shirt contest at the business in June.  
    Slater entered a written plea of not guilty in Magistrate Court June 27 and requested a jury trial to decide if his business was in violation of the city’s adult entertainment ordinance. He claimed the ordinance was  vague and in violation of his First Amendment rights.
    Clear Lake Police Chief Greg Peterson said Slater has never applied for, and does not have, an adult entertainment permit.  And because his establishment is within 1,000 feet of a residential area on the north side, he wouldn’t qualify for the necessary permit.  Peterson noted the city’s adult entertainment ordinance is the same as those in place in Mason City and in Cerro Gordo County.
    Clear Lake City Attorney Charles Biebesheimer argued that the city was within its rights to pass an ordinance restricting or limiting adult entertainment to certain places or certain locations.
    Violation of the city code is a simple misdemeanor and carries a $500 fine. No trial date has been set.