With the 4th of July holiday approaching soon, local law enforcement in the Perry community outlines the new regulations when shooting off fireworks.

Recently, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 303 into law, which restricts cities to prohibit shooting off fireworks on July 3rd, 4th, and December 31st. Perry Police Chief Jim Archer tells Raccoon Valley Radio that previously the city determined that residents were not allowed to shoot off fireworks within city limits. However, under the new legislation, cities can regulate the use of fireworks on any day other than the three aforementioned. 

Archer says that now people can shoot fireworks on July 3rd between the hours of 9am and 10pm, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, where the deadline extends to 11pm. He notes that on July 4th, fireworks are allowed between 9am and 11pm, then December 31st is from 9am until 12:30am. Archer stresses that outside of those days and times, officers will be cracking down on people shooting fireworks.

“It’s still a $250 fine, plus a $90 court cost, so that would be a total of $340. Obviously, we want people to enjoy celebrating Independence Day, but just be courteous. There’s a lot of people out there that don’t like fireworks, especially people that suffer from PTSD and animals aren’t a big fan of fireworks, so just keep that in mind.”

Archer recalls there being a mess of fireworks in the parks when they were allowed in the City of Perry, and reminds residents to do their due diligence to clean up their garbage after shooting them off. He describes that the Perry City Council accepted these new regulations that will go into effect on July 1st.