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Fate of Burlington bar up in the air after neighbors express safety concerns

Whitehorse bar in Burlington, Iowa has been a concern for neighbors and police.

BURLINGTON, Iowa - Whitehorse Lounge sits in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.

"It is a nice neighborhood, there's children in the neighborhood, it's not safe to have the bar here," said a neighbor.

The bar in Burlington, Iowa has been a concern for neighbors and police.

"They throw beer bottles and cans in our yard and there's problems as far as like the shooting, that's not an uncommon thing," said a neighbor.

Police Chief Doug Beaird said they've been keeping track of the shots fired calls for the last three years.

"We had a shots fired call in '14 we had two, '15 we had three and this year in '16 we've already had four and one shooting in the parking lot," said Chief Beaird.

Bar employees said the problem isn't them.

"It was all outside, never been inside the bar, you know, they go outside and cause the problems and then we get blamed for it," said a Whitehorse employee.

The bar is known for winning in darts and pool, but now they're on the edge of losing their liquor license.

"All the options are still on the table, what we're looking for is cooperation, but with that said I mean this thing has reached an end and some things are gonna change and change drastically," said Chief Beaird

For the bar it's not good news.

"A lot of people would lose their place to drink and they don't want to go nowhere else, they like the Whitehorse," said a Whitehorse employee.

For the neighbors they said they've been wanting to see the bar close since the problems started three years ago.

"It's time that the city does something about it and closes it down before more people get hurt," said a neighbor.

Chief Beaird said they are working with the city attorney to see which action they can take.

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