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It's illegal to buy alcohol for minors.

That's not a surprise.

But if you buy alcohol for a minor and someone dies as a result of the alcohol you provided, you're looking at a Class D felony and five years in prison.

That's a result the Drug Free Alliance and Fort Dodge Police Department are hoping to prevent.

In the inaugural Project Sticker Shock, teens teamed up with an adult Wednesday evening to put stickers on beer cases and wine coolers in local stores to draw the attention of adults who may be purchasing alcohol for minors.

"This initiative is to change the attitudes some adults have about selling and providing alcohol to minors in our community," said Assistant Fort Dodge Police Chief Kevin Doty. "Adults are supposed to be the responsible ones, but one of the most common ways youth get alcohol is to get someone over 21 to buy it for them."

Thirty-nine percent of 11th-grade students in Webster County answered that it is "very easy" to get alcohol beverages, according to statistics from the Iowa Youth Survey. That statistic is 4 percent higher than it is for the rest of the state.

More than 1,000 students in sixth, eighth and 11th grades completed the anonymous survey in Webster County. The survey has questions about students' behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs, as well as their perceptions of peer, family, school, neighborhood and community environments.

"We understand underage drinking and drug use is a problem in the community," said Deb Rohlfs, prevention supervisor for Community and Family Resources. "When we see people that end up with addictions, they generally start early. We are trying to delay the beginning of people using alcohol and drugs."

Drug Free Alliance was awarded a grant through the Iowa Department of Public Health to purchase the stickers used in Wednesday's project.

Teresa Newman, director of Trinity Healthy Living at Trinity Regional Medical Center, who oversees Drug Free Alliance, stressed the consequences of underage drinking.

"Research shows that teenagers' brains and bodies are still developing," Newman said. "Alcohol use under the age of 21 can cause learning problems or lead to adult alcoholism. People who begin drinking by the age of 15 are five times more likely to abuse or become dependent on alcohol than those who begin drinking after age 20."

Organizers realize that putting stickers on beer cases won't solve the problem of underage drinking, but the goal is to raise awareness about the legal ramifications and consequences at stake.

"The drinking age is 21 for a reason," Doty said. "Alcohol is factor in many preventable teenage deaths and injuries."

Drivers from ages 15 to 20 make up 9 percent of licensed drivers, but in 2007, Iowa drivers under 21 represented 17 percent of all drinking drivers in fatal crashes, according to statistics from the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau. Drivers from ages 16 to 24 typically represent more than 30 percent of all Iowa drinking or impaired drivers in fatal and serious injury crashes.

"The stickers in themselves might not make a huge difference," Doty said. "The stickers are just going to remind people that if you elect to legally buy alcohol and then turn around and sell it or give it to minors, that's a violation of the law."

Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net