Firework tent owners are looking forward to law allowing fireworks on the 4th of July

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A new law in the state of Iowa is allowing people to fire fireworks on the 3rd and 4th of July, as well as New Year’s Eve.

The law would mean cities and counties can no longer block people from shooting off fireworks from their properties this holiday, or the day before. This law is meant to boost celebrations around the nation’s 250th birthday. Many municipalities regulate when fireworks can go off, but this makes it clear that on July 3rd, July 4th, and New Year’s Eve, Iowans can largely shoot off fireworks unrestricted.

For Jill Meyers and her family in Central City, buying fireworks is all a part of celebrating the 4th of July.

“We love the excitement and getting together as a family,” she said.

She’s been buying fireworks in Iowa since it was made legal in 2017. This state change will let her family set off fireworks on the third and fourth without restriction from local cities and counties. That news came as a surprise.

“I didn’t know about it,” she said.

Iowa Fireworks Company Tent Manager Jessica McIntosh said Meyers wasn’t alone. That could be why sales haven’t increased yet.

“I would say 70%, 80% of people that come in, we’ve had to tell them that it is legal,” said McIntosh.

Her family is in its second year of operating the tent along 1st Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, but based on her sales on the 3rd and 4th of July, she’s expecting to sell even more this year.

“We have a bigger tent, a lot more inventory, and a lot more space for product,” she said. “Hopefully, sell more products this year.

While McIntosh and her family prepared for those hectic two days of sales, Meyers said they were ready to light her fireworks and put on a show.

“You can’t go above a 7-inch shell in Iowa,” she said. “That’s the largest you can purchase in Iowa. That’s why I got 7 inches this year because the kids have never gotten to shoot off a 7-inch shell.”

Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.