Fireworks In The Heartland

It is July 2nd and I was reading through some of the articles on the Des Moines Register website. Came across an article by William Petroski and Brianne Pfannenstiel which caught my eye. It was examining some of the issues likely to spark debate this year in the Iowa State Legislature. Among them was a debate over holiday fireworks. I have always felt that denying fireworks on New Years Eve or July 4th is like telling a mud slide to turn around an go home. People are going to have fireworks. Last year both house passed a bill which legalize fireworks in Iowa and this year there is a movement which would permit the sale of such retail fireworks items as roman candles. Didn’t realize this – but up until now roman candles have been banned in Iowa for seventy years. Why the push now? One thing the article mentioned is revenue. Sales tax revenue for the sale of fireworks might be as high as 1.1 million. Opponents claim that the return of fireworks might result in fires as well as injuries. A third argument is that all this bang bang would disturb those who want to get a good night’s sleep. Both sides have a valid point. As I go buy a pair of earplugs for the next few days, I wish them all the luck.

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