LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Four Nebraska beer stores on the border of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation will learn next week whether state regulators will allow them to stay in business.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission says it will issue a ruling Wednesday on whether the stores in Whiteclay can renew their liquor licenses.

The commission denied the stores’ requests to renew their licenses automatically amid concerns over whether law enforcement in the area is adequate.

The stores sold the equivalent of 3.5 million cans of beer in 2015 even though Whiteclay only has nine full-time residents. Whiteclay is known as a gathering place for Native Americans who loiter, beg for change and sometimes get into fights. The problem has persisted for decades.

The commission’s ruling is likely to be appealed.