An extended holiday weekend and time spent with friends and family can often lead to greater alcohol consumption, and the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office warns residents to stay sober when behind the wheel.

Sheriff Marty Arganbright says if you plan to drink around the holidays it’s best to stay home or wherever your celebration is taking place. He says that any amount of alcohol impairs a motorist’s driving abilities, and he warns of other consequences, “Anything that’s too far over the limit, alcohol-wise, you could get an OWI, .08 is the law in Iowa so it doesn’t take a lot of alcohol to get over .08. So you need to be cautious about that, we all know the law, and we are still out there on patrolling day and night. So if you think we’re not because of COVID, that’s not true.”

The Guthrie County Jail is already full, so Arganbright encourages the public to stay home instead and avoid an operating while intoxicated conviction that comes with fines, jail time, and license revocation.