Alcohol sales down. Tax dollars paid to newspapers continue. Reimagining Education progresses. Pet adoptions break record. And holiday drinks confuse?
12/31/2025The Iowa Department of Revenue released its fiscal year 2025 report, which includes the alcohol revenue numbers. Each year, the department details which spirits, from beer to wine, and which brands, from local to national, were the most popular in Iowa.
All in all, total sales were $434,938,128 and total gallons were 6,023,961. Both of these are massive numbers, but both are decreases from the previous year. Total sales are down just shy of $10 million, and total gallons are down a little more than 100,000.
Vodka once again topped the charts in both total sales and gallons, with the clear spirit accounting for $93.8 million in 2025. This number is also down from the year before, which was $95.2 million. While vodka is at the top, the collective power of whiskey would clear it handily. Domestic whiskey came in second place for sales at $83.2 million, a slight rise from the year before. Canadian whiskey was third with $78.3 million, down slightly from $78.6.
As for Iowa distilleries, the local artisans had $7 million in sales and sold 134,204 gallons. Cedar Ridge Bourbon topped the total sales list with $1.9 million with Blue Ox Vodka in second place with $1.8 million. Blue Ox Vodka sold, by far, the most gallons with 69,046. Rounding out the top five was Revelton Mulberry Gin in third, Gotcha Vodka in fourth, and Prairie Fire in fifth.
Of the top 50 brands, Tito’s Handmade Vodka had the most sales with $31 million. Fireball came in second with $24 million, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum in third with $16 million, Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey in fourth with $12 million and Crown Royal Canadian Whiskey in fifth with $10 million. The highest-selling local brand, Cedar Ridge Bourbon, ranked 36th.
The top customer this year was the Park Avenue Hy-Vee at 3221 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines, with $13.9 million in liquor sales. The grocery giant narrowly beat out Central City 2, or Central City Liquors at 1460 Second Ave., Des Moines, which had $13.3 million in sales. Another Round, in DeWitt, an Iowa City Hy-Vee and Benz Distributing rounded out the top five.
As for top counties by Class “E” liquor sales, Polk County led the way with a little more than $100 million in sales. Linn County was a faraway second with $37 million. Scott County, with $27 million, Johnson County, with $24 million and Blackhawk County, with $21 million, rounded out the top five. …
Clearly, subscriptions to paid newspapers are down — a lot. Meanwhile, your tax dollars continue to go to those newspapers as counties, school boards and city councils continue to be required to publish their minutes and expenditures in publications of that type. This “legal advertising” — the fine print often published in the back pages — can add up. In the past 12 months, The City of Des Moines paid $9,854.27 of taxpayer dollars to the Business Record and $26,883.81 to The Des Moines Register. Polk County paid $36,754.86 to the Business Record and $77,727.24 to the Register. …
DMPS announced progress on its Reimagining Education projects. Bekah Harris was named as the lead project manager. An announcement said that, in the future, all DMPS middle schools will include “innovative maker spaces” that will allow students to explore countless career pathways with the use of data, digital and health science labs. The district plans to break ground at Brody, Goodrell and McCombs this summer.
Signature Schools, meant to allow students to immerse themselves in specific topics, are also in development. One of the first two Signature Schools will be at Moulton Elementary and will become a performing and visual arts school for PK through eighth grade. Demolition and construction of the building is expected to begin at the end of this school year with the new site open for the 2028-2029 school year. The other Signature School will be located at Brubaker/Hoyt, which will become a Dual Language Immersion school for PK through eighth grade upon completion of renovations and additions by the start of the 2028-2029 school year.
Weeks Middle School and Lovejoy and Studebaker elementary schools are getting additions and renovations. The changes at Weeks are currently being designed and are expected to break ground for construction in late spring. Lovejoy and Studebaker have architects selected, with the district hoping to begin construction in late summer or early fall. …
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa broke its record for adoptions in a year in 2025. The previous record of 8,693 was set in 2023. The record-breaking adoption came on Friday, Dec. 12, when a kitten named Nora Charles became adoption No. 8,694 of 2025. …
Did you enjoy a glass of spiked eggnog this holiday season? Bisnar Chase, personal injury attorneys, say people confuse festive drinks such as mulled wine, hot toddies and spiked eggnog to be roughly the same strength as beer. On average, more than 21% Iowans believe these holiday drinks are no stronger than low-alcohol beer, which is lower than the national average of 38%. In Iowa, 13% of adults think spiked eggnog packs no more punch than a light beer, while another 38% say the same about mulled wine. And in the Hawkeye State, 13% also mistakenly believe that hot toddies count as low-alcohol cocktails. A surprising, and also concerning, 20% of national respondents believe holiday cocktails don’t count toward the drink-drive limit. …
MarketBeat, a financial media company, named New Pioneer Food Co-Op as Iowa’s most ethical business. Trust in big business can be difficult to come by these days, but according to this survey, consumers trust these three Iowa companies the most: New Pioneer Food Co-Op, Pella Corporation and Kinze Manufacturing. Nationwide, New Pioneer Food Co-Op ranked 64th, Pella ranked 78th, and Kinze ranked 118th. Hershey Company is ranked first nationally. …
Hip-hop star Ludacris donated $100,000 to ChildServe as a “Secret Santa.” This is no longer much of a secret, but the gesture was jolly, nonetheless. The six-figure donation will help fund inpatient services throughout the year.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a successful career because of the fans that attend my concerts and support my music,” Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris, said. “Because of this I have the privilege to support children’s hospitals and organizations in communities all over the world. I especially enjoy supporting organizations that have an extremely meaningful impact, such as ChildServe. ChildServe meets all the buckets when I’m choosing a nonprofit partner, and I appreciate the good work that you’re doing to put Iowa on the map.” ♦
