Des Moines, Iowa — Unless the governor vetoes it, a bill will soon become law that would undo the best-laid plans of city councils and county boards across the state to either eliminate fireworks or make them safer and less of a nuisance.
The Iowa legislature has sent the governor a bill that would override city and county ordinances that ban fireworks on Independence Day. Representative Bill Gustoff, a Republican from Des Moines, says the bill eliminates a confusing patchwork of ordinances that prevent Iowans from celebrating the country’s independence from Great Britain the way the founding fathers intended.
Gustoff says the legislature needs to act now because of a big event in 2026.
The bill passed the House Monday on a 51-to-39 vote. Representative Eric Gjerde, a Democrat, is a policeman in Cedar Rapids, where fireworks are not allowed within city limits. He says consumer fireworks are not just a nuisance, they’re a danger.
Gjerde says the most concerning calls are from people who hear consumer fireworks, but think they heard gunshots — and 9-1-1 reports of gunshots require a heightened police response.
A state law passed in 1938 banned the use of fireworks in Iowa. Then, in 2017, the legislature ended the ban and legalized the sale and use of fireworks. Gustoff says fireworks have been around since about 200 B.C.
The Senate approved the bill last Wednesday on a 31-to-16 vote.
