By Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register
- The Des Moines City Council voted to permit setting off fireworks over the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve holidays.
- The decision was made to align with a new Iowa law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
- Fireworks will be allowed on private property with the owner’s consent during specified hours on July 3rd, 4th, and December 31st.
Des Moines will ease up on its rules around setting off fireworks on two holidays to align with Iowa law.
Des Moines City Council members unanimously — though reluctantly — approved changing the city ordinance at its meeting Monday, June 9, to allow people to set off fireworks at certain times on Fourth of July weekend and New Year’s Eve. The council’s vote was fast-tracked for approval, with council members voting to waive a second and third reading.
“The state has preempted us, so we can no longer prohibit fireworks at all times,” council member Josh Mandelbaum said at the meeting, adding, “We’re doing this because it’s state law and we have a duty to follow state law, not because any of us have an interest in doing this.”
The proposed change to the city’s long-standing ordinance comes after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in May that prohibits city and county governments from regulating or prohibiting Iowans’ use of fireworks on those holidays.
The bill comes two years after President Donald Trump proposed the idea of a Great American State Fair to be held in Iowa in July 2026 for the country’s 250th birthday. The milestone celebration would be hosted at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, though Iowa State Fair officials said no official requests have been made as of May.
Des Moines is among several metro cities that have historically banned the explosion of fireworks outright. City officials have said in the past that fireworks are a hazard, which have cost thousands of dollars in damages and dozens of hours in staff time for cleanup.
City Council members in 2024 unanimously approved lowering the misdemeanor fine for setting off fireworks to $200 from $625 to encourage police to issue citations and more closely align fees with other metro cities.
At the June 9 meeting, council member Joe Gatto shared concerns over damages to city parks, adding that the Des Moines Police Department should outline a plan on how officers will enforce the ordinance outside of the set hours. The city estimated paying $4,000 to replace park equipment destroyed by firework damage in 2023.
“Now that our neighbors have an opportunity on the third and the fourth to legally shoot off fireworks in our city, there’s no excuse for them to be shooting them off any other time,” Gatto added. “I’m hoping citations will be written, more of them.”
Multiple council members agreed that the city should crack down on its enforcement of illegal fireworks and clarify how residents can document and report someone setting off fireworks outside of permitted hours.
In an emailed statement to the Des Moines Register, city manager Scott Sanders said: “We encourage our residents to celebrate the Fourth of July safely and respectfully by attending the many public fireworks displays and Independence Day events put on throughout Central Iowa.”
When and where would people be allowed to set off fireworks in Des Moines?
Fireworks would only be allowed:
- July 3: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- July 4: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Dec. 31: 9 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.
Fireworks would be allowed to be used on private property with the owner’s consent, not on city property or in public spots.
What kinds of fireworks could be used?
Under the ordinance, people could fire off consumer fireworks, which include:
- Helicopter and aerial spinners
- Firecrackers
- Mine and shell devices
- Missile-type rockets
- Roman candles
- Flitter sparklers
- Ground and hand-held sparkling devices
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