Ankeny, IA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 45.02, Public Consumption or Intoxication, bars a person from using or consuming alcoholic liquor, wine, or beer on public streets or highways, and from consuming alcoholic liquor in any public place except premises covered by a retail alcohol license, such as a licensed bar or restaurant patio. The same subsection separately bars possessing or consuming alcohol on public school property or at any public or private school-related function, and bars being intoxicated in a public place outright. Subsection 1 defines the key enforcement terms by cross-reference to the Code of Iowa: "arrest" per Iowa Code Section 804.5, "chemical test" as a blood, breath, or urine test approved by the Commissioner of Public Safety, and "peace officer" per Iowa Code Section 801.4.

Subsection 3, tracking Iowa Code Section 123.46, requires a peace officer arresting someone for public intoxication to offer a chemical test at the person's expense, and a test taken within two hours of arrest is presumed to reflect the blood alcohol level at the time of arrest. Ankeny Police Department officers enforce this section citywide, including on Uptown Ankeny streets and near DMACC, where a licensed premises' patio is the narrow carve-out from the open-container and public-place bans.